The backers of a controversial solar energy plant in the desert near Joshua Tree suddenly pulled their application for the project late last week, surprising Audubon California and other environmental groups that were still gathering their forces to oppose the dangerous technology the developers sought to use. The original permit for the Palen solar project called for the use of "solar trough" technology, but BrightSource and other partners recently moved to use "power tower" technology. This technology, currently in use at the controversial Ivanpah solar project in the Mojave Desert appears to harm birds at a high rate, sometimes burning the birds as they pass through intense heat fields. Audubon California had opposed the use of this technology until the actual impact of birds was completely known, and we were very concerned when the California Energy Commission gave preliminary approval for its use at Palen, right in the middle of a key migratory pathway. According to reports, the developers' action come more from economic concerns, and not environmental ones, but the result is all the same for the birds. (Above, a bird with burnt feathers from the Ivanpah solar plant in the Mojave Desert.)