The story lede of this article is buried in the final paragraphs:

Aside from the fact that California produces far more solar power than it can effectively use, solar projects "have cleared thousands of acres of pristine land in the Mojave Desert, where it has angered local residents worried about declining property values and environmentalists concerned about the loss of wildlife habitat."

As the final graph of the article notes, the people who live in the California desert regions are not deceived.

"We have this planet to save and they are throwing away power?" said Mark Carrington, a resident of Desert Center, a town east of Joshua Tree National Park, which has been nearly surrounded by solar projects.