That is, if the environmentalists approve:

BrightSource Energy Inc. on Monday landed preliminary approval for a $1.37 billion loan guarantee from the federal government to help finance construction of a big solar energy complex in the Mojave Desert. “This is a major milestone in getting this project built,” said Keely Wachs, a spokesman for BrightSource Energy. Oakland-based BrightSource has been seeking state and federal approval for the solar project that would rise in the desert in the Ivanpah Valley. “The loan guarantee commitment,” said John Woolard, BrightSource’s CEO, “serves as a tremendous validation of our technology, the BrightSource team’s ability to execute, and the Ivanpah project’s role in meeting our nation’s large-scale renewable energy needs. The project, though, has been beset by environmental protests and demands the vast solar plant be relocated. Some environmental groups fear that project — which would theoretically create “green” energy — could imperil 26 desert tortoises that have been found at the site, along with desert plants.

Twenty-six tortoises? Maybe the best way to fight the Obama Energy Tax is with the Endangered Species Act?