An energy company might soon harness Lompoc’s winds to provide energy to up to 50,000 homes.
On Feb. 10, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors voted 4-0, with 4th District Supervisor Joni Gray abstaining, to approve the project after denying the only remaining appeal filed against it.
Originally, two parties—the California Department of Fish and Game and Lompoc residents George and Cheryl Bedford—filed appeals.
Fish and Game raised concerns that significant impacts on local wildlife, namely bats and birds, hadn’t been adequately analyzed or mitigated. The department withdrew its appeal after reaching an agreement with the project developer, Acciona Wind Energy USA.
According to the agreement, Acciona will designate a conservation easement on the property, and give Fish and Game funds to maintain the protected acreage.
The Bedfords, on the other hand, continued with their appeal, which contends that the project doesn’t comply with the California Environmental Quality Act or other planning and zoning ordinances.
The supervisors ultimately determined that the wind farm’s benefits far outweighed its unavoidable environmental impacts, including obstruction of public viewsheds and increased bat and bird deaths. Supervisor Gray recused herself because of a personal relationship with the Bedfords.
The project proposes building 65 turbines, each approximately 260 feet high (nearly 400 feet, counting rotors), on land five miles south of Lompoc. Construction could begin at the end of this year, with energy production beginning in 2010, according to reports from the developer.
The wind farm will generate an estimated 285 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year and generate approximately $1 million in annual tax revenues for the county.
This article appears in Feb 19-26, 2009.