Big blades keep on turning

We've been following the flood of proposals by energy companies to put up wind and solar projects in the High Desert. Hundreds of applications have been sent in to the Bureau of Land Management to erect these projects on public land.

Roughly 110 square miles of land could be scooped up by energy companies in what is being called California's next "Gold Rush,"  which gained momentum in 2005 when Congress passed the Energy Policy Act - legislation that mandated the BLM to streamline the process for building renewable energy projects.

The speed and scope of the applications that have been rolling in have gained the attention of San Bernardino County leaders. Earlier this year, the board of supervisors entered into an agreement with the BLM to jointly carry out the review of the projects' environmental impacts. The hope is that this will ensure the public gets a chance to weigh in.

Even though the High Desert is vast and has few population centers, some of the projects are being planned are not too far from residential areas. On Friday, The Sun reported on a number of  projects are planned near Apple Valley and Lucerne Valley.

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S.B. County could be next stop for wind power

By Lauren McSherry, Staff Writer

PALM SPRINGS - On Friday morning, elected officials, environmentalists and energy company representatives heralded the unveiling of the Dillon Wind Power Project, a group of 45 turbines towering more than 300 feet above the Coachella Valley.
Experts were quick to talk about how the project will reduce California's carbon footprint, but there was one topic most veered away from: how the wind farms in Palm Springs have reached generating capacity and how energy companies are looking to the higher elevations of San Bernardino County as the next frontier for renewable energy. In Palm Springs, the wind farms have been built out, and one of the only remaining options is to upgrade aging turbines.
A number of proposals have been submitted to the Bureau of Land Management, but one in particular -- a proposed project that would erect up to 28 turbines six miles east of Apple Valley and is the farthest along in the approval process -- could be San Bernardino County's very first wind farm.
The company behind the proposed $130-million project, Granite Mountain Wind in Redlands, says it will help California meet its goal of producing 20 percent of its energy from renewable energy sources by 2010.
The proposal's 410-foot-tall ridgeline turbines, however, have garnered controversy. Residents have expressed concerns that their property values would be affected, views would be lost and wildlife corridors would be blocked by roads.
And the project still has some hurdles. The California Public Utilities Commission must approve the agreement between Granite Mountain Wind and Southern California Edison, which would purchase the energy. A decision is expected by the end of the summer. Although Carl Zichella, regional staff director of the Sierra Club, spoke in support of the Dillon wind farm Friday, he said he could not comment on Granite Mountain project.
"We're all supportive of wind power," he said. "That doesn't mean that every single project should be built."
Other proposed wind projects in the High Desert include an application to erect up to 36 turbines just northeast of Apple Valley on Sidewinder Mountain, which was submitted to the BLM by Orion Energy Group, owned by the multinational energy company BP, according to BLM documents.
Another wind farm is proposed for 3,100 acres in the Johnson Valley, northeast of Lucerne Valley. Up to 34 turbines that are 425 feet tall could be built.
Meanwhile, Sierra Renewables is studying three other potential wind farm sites along the 40 freeway between Barstow and Baker, said Gill Howard, project manager with Sierra Renewables, which is the parent company of Granite Mountain Wind.
Howard pointed out that the Granite Mountain project alone will be mean a substantial investment in the local economy.
About $12 million will go toward construction. Money that will go toward hiring local contractors and buying construction materials, she said.
In addition, Granite Mountain Wind will pay $1 million in property taxes to the county each year, and 17 jobs will be created as a result of the project she said.
"And that's just one project," she said. "If we were to do some of the others, we would be looking at much higher numbers than that."