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 do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch. They are the products of and owned by the organizations or individuals noted and are shared here according to “fair use” and “fair dealing” provisions of copyright law.
Terra-Gen appeals wind energy project to Board of Supervisors
The Terra-Gen wind energy project is officially headed to the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors table in December after company executives on Monday appealed an earlier denial of the controversial proposal. The county will plan a series of meetings to accommodate for what officials anticipate will be a swarm of public comments regarding the wind farm. It’s possible the Board of Supervisors will move to a different, larger meeting space so its regular chamber doesn’t overflow, as it did at . . . Complete story »
Rio Dell mayor asks supes to move Terra-Gen appeal meeting down south
Rio Dell Mayor Debra Garnes has sent a letter to the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors officially requesting a change of venue for any future meeting on Terra-Gen’s proposed wind farm. The Humboldt County Planning Commission voted 4-2 Thursday, with commissioners Mike Newman and Alan Bongio dissenting and commissioner Brian Mitchell absent, to deny the proposal to erect massive turbines on Monument and Bear River ridges south of Rio Dell. In the letter with today’s date, Garnes writes that it . . . Complete story »
Humboldt County Planning Commission denies Humboldt Wind Energy Project with 4-2 vote
At a special meeting Thursday, the Humboldt County Planning Commission voted 4-2 to deny the Humboldt Wind Energy Project from moving forward. The commission’s vote denied Humboldt Wind, LLC the necessary permits to begin construction on the project. The project proposed building 60 wind turbines, most of which would be placed on the Bear River and Monument Ridges, west of State Highway 101, south of Rio Dell and Scotia and terminating east of the 101 in Bridgeville. The project is . . . Complete story »
Planning Commission denies wind farm project
The Humboldt County Planning Commission voted 4-2, with commissioners Mike Newman and Alan Bongio dissenting and commissioner Brian Mitchell absent, to deny a proposal to build a wind farm on Monument and Bear River ridges south of Rio Dell. An initial vote on a motion to accept the project stalled with a 3-3 vote, which prompted commission Chair Robert Morris to ask Terra-Gen’s representative if he would be OK delaying the vote a couple of weeks until after the Thanksgiving . . . Complete story »
In a wild meeting, the Planning Commission first deadlocks, then denies the Humboldt Wind Energy Project
In a meeting that featured more drama, suspense and unforeseen plot twists than a season finale on HBO, the Humboldt County Planning Commission wound up denying the Humboldt Wind Energy Project on Thursday night, setting the stage for an appeal to the Board of Supervisors. The decision came at the end of a five-hour meeting – the third five-hour Planning Commission meeting in as many weeks on this highly controversial project – and for a while it looked like things were headed . . . Complete story »
Terra-Gen wind project denied by Planning Commission in surprise vote
The Terra-Gen wind energy project received a denial from the Humboldt County Planning Commission on Thursday, concluding an emotional series of meetings in which the commission appeared to be veering toward approval before swinging the other way. It was Commissioner Noah Levy who gave every indication he would support the project before suddenly deciding, under intense public pressure, that he needed more information before granting approval. Levy’s decision brought the commission to a 3-3 vote, killing a motion to give . . . Complete story »
Terra-Gen wind project’s water use draws state concerns
The state Water Resources Control Board has raised objections to the controversial Terra-Gen wind energy project, saying its intended use of water could lead to the discharge of hazardous chemicals. In a letter on Thursday, Justin McSmith of the Water Board said the project would “raise a number of water quality concerns,” including the possible discharge of chromium, zinc and chlorine into surface water runoff, as well as soil contamination. McSmith also said an existing permit that governs “log pond” . . . Complete story »
The Planning Commission could reach a decision on the Humboldt Wind Energy Project tonight
The Humboldt Wind Energy Project has proved to be the most significant and controversial infrastructure proposal for Humboldt County in recent memory. This $300 million project from New York-based renewable energy firm Terra-Gen would see 47 massive wind turbines installed on private property atop Bear River Ridge and Monument Ridge south of Scotia. The past two Thursday night meetings of the Humboldt County Planning Commission have seen massive crowds (by local government standards, anyway), with people waiting two, three, even . . . Complete story »
Wind-energy project near Lompoc approved by County Planning Commission
Amid talks about hazards for birds and benefits of renewable energy, a commercial wind farm planned for land south of Lompoc received Santa Barbara County Planning Commission approval on Wednesday. The commission voted unanimously to approve the Strauss Wind Energy Project, proposed by an affiliate of BayWar r.e. Global, a renewable energy firm based in Germany. “Generally speaking, my heart is pulling me one way and my brain’s pulling me in another,” said Chairman John Parke, who represents the Third . . . Complete story »
Protect Tsakiyuwit, deny Terra-Gen’s wind farm
Long before there was a company named Terra-Gen, an electrical grid or climate crisis threatening the planet, the Humboldt Bay region was inhabited by Wiyot people – as many as 3,000 of them, by some estimates – who lived in some 20 villages scattered around the bay. It’s where their ancestors lived, and their ancestors’ ancestors. It is where Wiyot people still live. Scattered throughout the Wiyot’s ancestral territory are a number of sacred sites. Among them is the village of Tuluwat, . . . Complete story »
