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Wind Power News: Idaho
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch in its noncommercial educational mission 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. The original articles, links to which are provided, may have additional links and photos and other media that were not included here.
Idaho politicians are saying “Don’t DO IT” to Department of Interior
Idaho Senator Jim Risch, alongside Senator Mike Crapo, Congressman Mike Simpson and Congressman Russ Fulcher introduced the Don’t Develop Obstructive Infrastructure on our Terrain (Don’t DO IT) Act. This act is in response to the Lava Ridge Wind Project in Southern Idaho. The project is being led by the Department of the Interior, despite local opposition. “Idahoans have been loud and clear on Lava Ridge: Don’t DO IT! Yet, the Department of the Interior is still moving full speed ahead,” . . . Complete story »
BLM extends land status two more years for more analysis of the proposed Lava Ridge Wind Project area
The Bureau of Land Management said that more than 106,000 acres of BLM-managed public lands in the Lava Ridge Wind Project area will continue to be set aside from appropriation. That means that lands cannot be sold or have mining claims filed under the public land laws for another two years. The Lava Ridge Wind Project is a proposed commercial scale wind energy facility of up to 400 turbines submitted by the Magic Valley Energy, LLC to be constructed on . . . Complete story »
Under threat of wind farm construction, Minidoka pilgrimage more bittersweet than ever
In a photo from the 2023 pilgrimage to what was Minidoka Internment Center in Idaho, former incarcerees stand for the Pledge of Allegiance, hands on their hearts. They are all senior citizens now. One of them wears a red, white, and blue shirt emblazoned with the United States flag. There was never any doubt as to their loyalty to our nation, and yet the U.S. government did doubt, and in 1942 sent almost 13,000 people of Japanese ancestry to Minidoka. . . . Complete story »
‘Memorial to all who suffered’: survivors protest wind farm near Japanese American incarceration site
Paul Tomita was just four when his family was interned. He was too young to remember Franklin D Roosevelt, then president, issuing the executive order that saw him and at least 125,000 others of Asian descent packed onto blacked-out trains and sent to prison camps during the second world war. But his memories come alive when he recalls the hard, clattering train filled with fear and anxiety. “They did not tell us anything. So there were just these crazy rumours,” . . . Complete story »
Resolution against Lava Ridge adopted by Idaho Senate
A resolution opposing the Lava Ridge wind energy proposal has been adopted by the Idaho Legislature, after a unanimous vote in the state Senate on Tuesday. LS Power and Magic Valley Energy have proposed a large-scale wind energy project on public lands east of Jerome. It would be the first such project on public lands in Idaho, and, if the targeted 1000 MegaWatt capacity is reached, it would be among the largest terrestrial wind energy projects in the country. House . . . Complete story »
Counties sign resolution calling for halt to Lava Ridge, other wind projects in Magic Valley
In a rare act of intercounty solidarity, the commissioners of eight counties signed a joint resolution opposing three wind energy projects proposed for public lands in the Magic Valley. At a ceremony held in the sunshine at Minidoka National Historic Site in front of hundreds of supporters, commissioners from Cassia, Gooding, Jerome, Lincoln, Jerome, Minidoka, and Twin Falls signed the resolution which asks the Bureau of Land Management to select the “no-build” option for Lava Ridge, and to pause the . . . Complete story »
‘I’ll fight like a badger’: Lava Ridge opponents rally in Twin Falls
As the end of the public comment period for the Lava Ridge draft Environmental Impact Statement approaches, opponents continue to raise their voices against the massive wind energy project proposed for public land in Jerome, Lincoln and Minidoka counties. Several hundred people turned out to the Stop Lava Ridge Rally on Tuesday at Twin Falls Downtown Commons. Speakers addressed their individual perspectives on the possible impacts of the project. “I hope that this is enough to put a plug in . . . Complete story »
Even Democrats adopt opposition to Idaho wind farms
This week the Idaho House of Representatives voted unanimously in voicing opposition to southern Idaho’s proposed wind farms. Consider that means all the Democrats and all the Republicans voted on the same page! How often does that happen? I can’t remember anything in recent memory. This morning I was floored when the leader of the House Democrats gave me some credit. Last week I was talking with House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel about wind power. She explained her correspondence was . . . Complete story »
Idaho’s political leadership weighs in on Magic Valley wind project
Several of Idaho’s federal and state politicians are weighing in on a wind farm proposal in the Magic Valley that’s currently moving through an environmental review. Earlier this week, Gov. Brad Little, Lt. Gov. Scott Bedke, U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson and Senators Jim Risch and Mike Crapo wrote a letter to the Bureau of Land Management’s Idaho State Director Karen Kelleher voicing their concerns over the Lava Ridge Wind Project. It would include up to 400 turbines on BLM land . . . Complete story »
We are researching Lava Ridge Wind Project to form an opinion. Are you?
The Lava Ridge Wind Project would change the landscape of south-central Idaho. Arguably, forever. This isn’t us embellishing the facts, or speaking in hyperbole. It would be the reality of blasting into the Earth to stand up as many as 400 wind turbines across up to 114 square miles between Twin Falls and Shoshone that would, in many cases, be taller than even the Space Needle that serves as the centerpiece of the Seattle skyline. The gigantic, mostly steel structures . . . Complete story »