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L.A.’s plans for a solar energy plant near the Manzanar National Historic Site

Kathy Jefferson Bancroft, tribal historic preservation officer, right, Les Inafuku, Manzanar National Historic Site, and Bill Helmer, tribal historic preservation officer, are opposing L.A.'s plans to build a $680-million 200-megawatt solar energy plant in the eastern Sierra near Manzanar, the site of a Japanese American internment camp during World War II. Their concern is that views of an industrial complex in the distance would destroy a key element in understanding what Japanese American internees experienced 70 years ago.

Kathy Jefferson Bancroft, tribal historic preservation officer, right, Les Inafuku, Manzanar National Historic Site, and Bill Helmer, tribal historic preservation officer, are opposing L.A.’s plans to build a $680-million 200-megawatt solar energy plant in the eastern Sierra near Manzanar, the site of a Japanese American internment camp during World War II. Their concern is that views of an industrial complex in the distance would destroy a key element in understanding what Japanese American internees experienced 70 years ago.   (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Over the objections of critics, Los Angeles is moving ahead with plans to build a $680-million, 200-megawatt solar energy plant within view of this desolate eastern Sierra site that was a Japanese American internment camp during World War II.

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A view of Manzanar. The 2-square-mile facility would produce 440 gigawatt hours of power annually, enough to service about 75,000 homes and allow the DWP to meet its state-required renewable energy goals.   (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Manzanar

Les Inafuku, superintendent of the Manzanar National Historic Site, opposes the DWP’s plans. “For the sake of our visitors¿ experiences and the memories of our former internees, we must advocate for the area to remain undeveloped,¿ he said.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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The 814-acre Manzanar site was established by Congress in 1992 to serve as a reminder of the fragility of American civil rights and to honor families whose memories are tied to the harsh landscape.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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The southeastern portion of Owens Valley provides among the highest solar resource values in the nation, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.   (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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The draft environmental impact statement says the solar field, viewed from Manzanar, would appear as a thin, dark strip at the base of the Inyo Mountains.   (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Randy Howard, the DWP¿s director of power systems planning and development, said critics¿ fears are unfounded.   (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Manzanar receives 82,000 visitors each year and is the destination of annual pilgrimages to the few reminders left of life in the detention camp: scattered foundations, a cemetery, rock gardens and stark vistas   (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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