TYPE: Wind Power Project
STATUS: In progress, with opposition
OPPOSITION: Kittitas County officials; local residents
BACKGROUND: EnXco wants to build a wind farm on 5,200 acres, north of Ellensburg, Washington. With 95 turbines and 190-megawatts of power generating capacity, Desert Claim could generate enough power for 57,000 homes. It is a $330 million project. The project would create 160 jobs during construction and a total payroll of $3.6 million. The company hit an impasse when Kittitas County planning officials denied its application over concerns about the setback distance of the wind turbines from existing homes. The developer then decided to seek state approval. A revised proposal was submitted to Washington State officials in February 2009, calling for reductions in the number of turbines as well as the number of residences that would be within a 2,500-foot setback from the turbines. Company officials say the Desert Claim site, located on rural farmland, has “a rare combination of qualities,” with plentiful wind and proximity to a power transmission corridor. No new transmission lines would need to be built, saving $500,000 to $1 million per mile in construction costs that the company claims “otherwise would have to be passed on to ratepayers in higher utility bills.” Three agencies, including Kittitas County, want to intervene in the siting and application process. In addition to the county, the petitioners are The Economic Development Group of Kittitas County, the county’s economic development arm, and the state Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development. Representatives of both say their petitions favor the project. The executive director for The Economic Development Group of Kittitas County said the group supports the plan because of the economic stimulus, jobs and added tax base it will provide. The Washington state Energy Facilities Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC) is considering the intervenor requests. Hearings before the EFSEC on the wind farm proposal may be conducted, at the earliest , this summer. EFSEC officials have indicated it is their hope to make a recommendation to the Governor by the end of the year. Should the council ultimately recommend that Governor Gregoire approve the Desert Claim project, it would mark the second time the state has overridden county opposition. Local residents organized a grassroots effort to defeat the project. On March 6, 2009, a Central Washington University study was released, which estimates that the Desert Claim Wind Power project would generate total economic activity of up to $17.3 million in Kittitas County during the year it is being built. The study also estimated that once completed and in operation, Desert Claim would generate $2.8 million in total economic activity in the county.
LINKS: Yakima Herald http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2009/04/20/agencies-want-a-say-in-wind-farm-s-future; Cleantech http://cleantech.com/news/1400/enxco-wind-power-project-hits-snag-in-; BNET http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m5CNK/is_2009_March_6/ai_n31416761/; Care2 Petition Site http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/896779246;
Comments