The controversial Oberon solar project is the third solar installation approved under the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Program.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has finalized the construction of the Oberon Solar Project on approximately 2,700 acres of land managed by BLM near the Desert Center in Riverside County, California.
This solar project is the third to be approved for full construction under the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Program and is an example of how California's public lands can play an important role in meeting the Biden-Harris administration's goal of 100% carbon-free electricity by 2035 .

The Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Program (DRECP), an interagency planning effort covering 22.5 million acres in seven California counties, has two primary goals. First, provide a streamlined process for developing utility-scale renewable energy generation and transmission in the Southern California desert in accordance with federal and state renewable energy goals and policies. Second, the long-term protection and management of special species and desert vegetation communities and other physical, cultural, scenic and social resources within the DRECP program area through durable regulatory mechanisms.

Both the BLM and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) have legal responsibility to protect wildlife under the Federal Endangered Species Act and the California Endangered Species Act. BLM must ensure that the needs of wildlife, fish and plants are taken into account when authorizing land use. CDFW requires project developers to avoid, minimize and/or compensate for impacts on fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats.

Despite these safeguards, environmental groups have voiced their opposition to the Oberon solar project. Basin and Range Watch is one such group, with the following statement on its website: "Despite new mitigation measures negotiated by BLM between controversial environmental assessment and final decision under DRECP, project will kill large amounts of desert Ironwood trees—an endangered vegetation community in California.”