Wind Power News: California
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They are the products of the organizations or individuals noted and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch.
Wind foes blast approval process; Wind energy maps draw protests
More than a year of pent-up frustration hit county supervisors with a roar Tuesday as a small army of wind energy opponents attacked county-drawn maps that would outline where industrial wind energy projects can and cannot be developed. Supervisors responded by withdrawing the maps for months of more study, community involvement on wind projects and input from property owners who both support and oppose wind energy development. The board also heard from landowners and wind developers who support the wind . . .
Wind project boundaries presented to Board Of Supervisors
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — In November, the Board of Supervisors asked the Kern County Planning Department to come up with a plan that would essentially protect certain rural areas from massive wind projects. Tuesday was the deadline. This afternoon the planning department proposed several options that work toward creating boundaries around certain communities to protect them from the wind projects they’re constantly fighting. “Nobody I’ve talked to wants these windmills in our valley whatsoever,” said Brian McDaniel, a Twin Oaks resident. . . .
Experts: California demand for Wyoming wind is a ‘gamble’
JACKSON — It’s no secret that Wyoming wants to sell its wind power to California. But its chances are still up in the air, said some participants at a state Infrastructure Authority meeting here Tuesday. “It’s a big question mark, and a gamble,” said Bill Boyd, executive vice president and chief operating officer of TransWest Express LLC, a subsidiary of Denver-based Anschutz Corp. and developer of a high-voltage power line to carry wind power from Wyoming to California. Yet Boyd . . .
The county’s big wind map? It’s a lot of hot air
I have some advice for Kern County Supervisors who on Tuesday will be mulling what to do with a proposed wind resources map: scrap it! The map doesn’t — at least it shouldn’t — put anyone’s mind at ease about where wind projects won’t be allowed, as Supervisor Zack Scrivner and county planning department officials have tried to sell it. Quite the opposite. The map is nothing but a shameful ploy to distract residents. But I’ll come back to that. . . .
Why we don’t trust you
Residents of Twin Oaks asked Kern County Planning Department officials repeatedly if the City of Vernon had a wind energy project in the wings and were unequivocally told “no.” Yes, it does. And Kern planning officials have known about it all along. Lying is bad enough from anyone, but when it comes from the very people you’re paying to make sure projects are done correctly, it’s unacceptable. Someone ought to be fired for this. Seriously. “Chris Mynck (one of Planning’s . . .
Film leaves viewers winded
A relentless, inescapable barrage of noise pollution. Shadows so conspicuous they lead to clinical sleep disorders. Whirling blades that fatally pierce passing birds and induce internal hemorrhaging in bats, a condition that could ultimately bring about the species’ extinction. Windfall, an award-winning documentary presented by the Environmental Action Committee of West Marin (EAC) and the West Marin/Sonoma Coastal Advocates (WMSCA) last Friday at the Dance Palace, tells the story of Meredith, a rural upstate New York town torn asunder as . . .
County backs down after lawsuit over alleged Brown Act violations
A lawsuit filed by Californians Aware has succeeded in persuading the San Diego County Board of Supervisors to vacate votes that approved key changes made by a developer-stacked Red Tape Reduction Task Force without public input. The lawsuit alleged that the Board violated the Brown Act by voting on items not listed as action items on the agenda. Now, the County has announced it will hold a public hearing on February 29. Following a closed-door meeting of Supervisors on the . . .
Regulators question NV Energy plan to export renewable power to California
CARSON CITY — NV Energy is studying shipping solar and geothermal power to California. But regulators and consumer advocates are questioning the mammoth project. “It’s a risk to your shareholders,” Public Utilities Commissioner Rebecca Wagner said during a PUC workshop Thursday. “You’re flying without a net.” Documents filed by the company indicate it has spent $150,000 on studying the project so far. Dan Jacobsen of the state Consumer Affairs Division says there.s worry that if the project fails the Nevada . . .
The question: Turbine or not turbine?
LANCASTER – Signaling they won’t approve giant wind turbines on hillsides and farmland south and west of the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors stopped two alternative energy developers from putting up a series of 200-foot-tall meteorological data-collecting towers on their project sites. The decision, which was made unanimously by the five-member board, could result in the end of one proposed project and a massive redesign of another as county officials said the ruling . . .
Supervisors knock down Antelope Valley wind turbine study
Efforts to build large electrical wind turbines in the Antelope Valley suffered a defeat Tuesday, when the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors sided with a coalition of residents and environmentalists who opposed the project. Opponents of the turbines feared the project could blight the view from the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve, kill eagles, falcons and raptors and damage property values for people who live in that rural part of L.A. County, north of the San Gabriel Mountains. Supporters . . .
