The proposal to turn the former Eagle Mountain iron mine into a hydroelectric power plant is one step closer to reality. Eagle Crest Energy Company announced Wednesday, July 1 that it purchased the former mining site on the southeast border of Joshua Tree National Park from Kaiser Ventures, which developed the mine in the 1950s and refused to sell it for many years. Eagle Crest intends to build a 1,300-megawatt hydroelectric power plant that would store energy from solar farms and windmills when supply exceeds demand, and when demand for electricity is high, pump nine billion gallons of water from the aquifer into a hydroelectric dam at the site. Supporters say it will help the state reach its mandate of producing 50 percent of its energy needs from renewable energy. Critics say the project will deplete the aquifer and harm the environment and threatened species. The hydroelectric power plant project was on hold for many years as Energy Crest negotiated the sale of the area. Conservationist argue that the area should be annexed to Joshua Tree National Park, which surrounds the mine on three sides.
