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Wind Power News: Washington
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch in its noncommercial educational effort 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.
Live in Tri-Cities? Here’s how many wind turbines you might soon see from your house
“Too many turbines, too close to people” say three Kennewick area residents who crunched the numbers for the proposed Horse Heaven Clean Energy Center. Scout Clean Energy proposes two scenarios along the Horse Heaven Hills just south of Kennewick from Finley to Benton City: Up to 244 turbines up to 500 feet tall Up to 150 turbines up to 670 feet high “Benton County people are impacted disproportionately to every other county in the state, in the Northwest and even . . . Complete story »
Horse Heaven wind farm environmental draft released
The Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC) has released its environmental impact statement about the proposed massive Horse Heaven Hills wind farm project. Now, the public has until February 1st to respond and comment The EIS (environmental impact statement) was first released just prior to Christmas and can be viewed by the public. Scout Energy is proposing putting upwards of 240 wind turbines, many of them expected to be the size of the Space Needle in Seattle, along a 50-plus . . . Complete story »
These rules could improve views of an Eastern WA wind, solar project. What are your thoughts?
A state council is proposing ways to minimize the view of hundreds of soaring towers and spinning turbine blades from a massive wind and solar energy farm planned south of the Tri-Cities. Scout Clean Energy wants to build up to 244 wind turbines with blades possibly extending as high as the Seattle Space Needle. They would stretch along the Horse Heaven Hills from south of Finley to south of Benton City. Tri-Cities area residents have been sharply divided on the . . . Complete story »
Lewis County commissioners toss windmill hearing; Ordinance will not move forward
For the foreseeable future, Lewis County will not be getting a new wind farm in the Willapa Hills. A public hearing by the Board of Lewis County Commissioners (BOCC) on a proposed code change allowing research on windmills will no longer be held, with the commissioners to let the ordinance die instead of voting on it. If it had been passed, the ordinance would have amended county land use designation, allowing a company called Scout Clean Energy to conduct research . . . Complete story »
Horse Heaven Hills Wind Farm project proposal still up in the air as controversy continues
KENNEWICK, Wash. – The Horse Heaven Hills wind farm project aims to provide renewable energy, create jobs and bring in more money to the surrounding communities. The farm could have up to 244 wind turbines stretching about 24 miles from Finley to Kiona. Only living about a mile away from the hills, Margaret Hue said she worries about her property value and health. She said the farmland has been sprayed with harmful chemicals since the 80s and fears the downwind effects. . . . Complete story »
Hearing on windmill code change for Lewis County postponed to Oct. 4
A public hearing by the Board of Lewis County Commissioners (BOCC) on a proposed code change allowing research on windmills has been postponed from Tuesday, Sept. 20, to Oct. 4. More than 100 people attended a meeting on the code change hosted by Commissioner Lindsey Pollock at the Baw Faw Grange earlier this month. There, she said her seatmates, Commissioners Sean Swope and Lee Grose, were in favor of the change while she was not. Posting the BOCC email addresses . . . Complete story »
Lewis County commissioner rallies against windmill code changes
Residents of Lewis County’s Commissioner District 2 packed the Baw Faw Grange to standing room only on Thursday night to hear from their representative, Commissioner Lindsey Pollock. At least 80 people attended the meeting, but not for the traditional social frills offered by the grange hall. The topic of the evening was windmills, or as stated in the title of the commissioner’s presentation, “Winds of Code Change.” Ahead of a Sept. 20 public hearing on a Lewis County code change . . . Complete story »
Hecate Energy: the second offshore wind proposal for Grays Harbor/Pacific County coast
Details have been discovered regarding a second proposed offshore wind farm for Grays Harbor and Pacific County coastal waters. In addition to the Trident Winds project, an Unsolicited Lease Request was submitted to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management for an offshore wind project by Hecate Energy (Hecate). KXRO learned in June that shortly following the release of the request from Trident Winds for their Olympic Wind project, federal officials informed us that a second request had been submitted by . . . Complete story »
Tractor-trailer crashes into Highway 14 overpass; debris damages 5 vehicles
Five vehicles were damaged by concrete debris Thursday afternoon when a tractor-trailer crashed into the Lieser Road overpass on state Highway 14. Washington State Patrol troopers responded at 12:18 p.m. to eastbound Highway 14 for a report that a truck carrying a base for a wind turbine struck the overpass. The impact scattered chunks of concrete along the highway and exposed pieces of rebar, according to spokesman Trooper Will Finn. The damaged vehicles included the truck’s rear pilot car, Finn . . . Complete story »
Editorial: We must have a say in offshore wind-energy plans
Few dispute the need to develop alternative ways to generate electricity that don’t produce greenhouse gases, but our local response to a proposed floating offshore wind farm isn’t a straightforward “yes.” Similar complications arise regarding floating wind turbines off the southern Oregon coast. These prompted the Astoria City Council and the Port of Astoria Commission to recently ask the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the Oregon Department of Energy to take their time before granting permission. Clatsop County . . . Complete story »
