It’s not easy being green. That’s essentially what the president of a local renewable energy consulting firm said after federal and local officials rejected a proposal to construct a set of turbine towers near the western boundary of the Santa Maria Public Airport.
The Santa Barbara-based firm Community Renewable Solutions, LLC, proposed building seven wind turbines on a parcel of land north of Betteravia Road, between Black and Stinton roads.
According to the proposal, the towers would have stood approximately 428 feet tall at a distance of roughly three miles from the airport—too close to the airport’s northwestern flight path of the main runway, officials said.
Santa Maria Airport District General Manager Chris Hastert told the Sun that he and other airport officials objected to the project, but the Federal Aviation Administration already determined the dimension and location of the proposed development would obstruct air traffic.
Hastert said the district wasn’t consulted on the project before the company submitted its plans to the FAA. He said the district received a notice on the project from the FAA on Aug. 15.
“We were able to take a quick look at it, and it didn’t look good,” he said.
In its correspondence to Community Renewable Solutions and to airport officials, the FAA stated the proposed turbines should be no more than 275 feet tall to meet standards.
Tam Hunt, president of Community Renewable Solutions, told the Sun the project is still
in its infancy, and the firm is taking another stab at it.
“In fact, I wouldn’t even call it a real project yet. This is basically an early-stage foray,” Hunt said. “Right now we’re seeing if it’s even feasible.”
The company, according to its website, offers policy and technical advice for renewable energy projects, specializing in state law and “community-scale” renewable energy projects designed to produce up to 20 megawatts of power.
Design and location aren’t the only barriers to the project, either. The proposal comes as the airport is smack-dab in the middle of a multi-million dollar construction project to extend the main runway and add navigational aids to handle larger aircrafts.
But while sustainable energy projects such as wind and solar power have been touted as long-term solutions to increased energy demands, many projects face major hurdles in terms of finding appropriate locations.
Hunt said that while his company’s proposal needs to go back to the drawing board, he sees many renewable energy projects as facing the “Not In My Back Yard” problem.
“The problem is that people, in theory, want renewable energy, but there’s a disconnect,” Hunt said. “The challenge is, where is it suitable?”
The FAA is requiring the company to commission further study prior to Sept. 27 if they wish to pursue the project, and will require distribution of plans to the public for comment.
This article appears in Sep 1-8, 2011.
