County Preparing Environmental Impact Report for 135 megawatt Wind Energy Project

This is a press release from the County of Humboldt:

Humboldt County Seal 2017The Humboldt County Planning and Building Department is preparing an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for a 135 megawatt wind energy project consisting of 60 wind turbines and extension of transmission lines to the Bridgeville PG&E Substation. The project is generally located in the Scotia, Shively, and Bridgeville areas. A Notice of Preparation has been issued further describing the project and requesting the public and affected governmental agencies provide comments on areas that should be covered in the EIR. As part of this, two public scoping meetings are being held to allow the public and affected governmental agencies to present and hear the ideas and concerns associated with this project. The public scoping meetings will be held at the following times and locations:

a. August 14, 2018: 6-8 p.m. at the Sequoia Conference Center, 901 Myrtle Avenue, Eureka

b. August 15, 2018: 6-8 p.m. at the Winema Theater, 125 Main Street, Scotia

These scoping meetings are being held pursuant to California Public Resources Code Section 21083.9. The scoping meetings will focus on the scope and content of the EIR. Attendees should be prepared to address the environmental impacts to be analyzed as identified in the Notice of Preparation released on July 31, 2018, and to raise additional issues which may not have been identified in that Notice.

The NOP is available on the County’s website at the following link: https://humboldtgov.org/2408/Humboldt-Wind-Energy-Project , or by contacting Cliff Johnson, Senior Planner by email at [email protected] or by phone at (707) 268-3721.

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Big louie
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Big louie
5 years ago

It’s about time eel River valley is always windy through there

Clive
Guest
Clive
5 years ago

Wait until you see how huge these things are; they dwarf the landscape. And because they are so tall (I think I read 590 feet), I imagine they will have to install red flashing lights on top of each turbine for FAA purposes. You can see the flashing red lights from a great distance. I was visiting family in Iowa last year. Wind turbines are all over the place. They give pretty, rural faming communities an industrial vibe and they kill a lot of birds. And those red flashing lights look like demon eyes staring at you in the night!

I like the idea of installing human-scaled windmills on private property (like the old-fashioned kind you see on ranches) and solar panels on people’s roofs; they do not detract from the look and character of our communities. If they construct 590-foot tall turbines, I fear these behemoth structures will ruin the natural beauty of our area.

Be careful what you wish for.

Seamus
Guest
Seamus
5 years ago
Reply to  Clive

My guess is that they don’t produce economical energy and the only reason they are installed is the huge gulp they allow operators to take off of the government teat. Just a hunch, nothing more.

Ben
Guest
Ben
5 years ago
Reply to  Seamus

This ridge is the windiest place on land in all of California, which will make the electricity from this farm the cheapest to generate in the entire state.

K H
Guest
K H
5 years ago
Reply to  Clive

I agree with you Clive. I’m all for alternative energy but these huge wind turbines are terribly loud and kill all wildlife that comes in their path. Also, there are the ground vibrations that come with these. I’ve seen them in my home state of IL. They make people miserable. I hope this project doesn’t go through. There is no need to put these machines in populated areas! There are plenty of other places to put them.

curlybill
Guest
curlybill
5 years ago

This would be an amazing project.
I would expect a project like this could take ten years to complete or more.
Welcome to the twenty first century.
Employment for the population.

Ben
Guest
Ben
5 years ago
Reply to  curlybill

Two years to completion or it doesn’t qualify for the full govt subsidy .

Hick
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Hick
5 years ago

Too bad they couldn’t do more tidal energy generation. Visually they would would be a blight on the landscape. I think people talk in terms of BWT (before wind turbines). They will give our county an industrial look. And it will be, UGLEE!

Alt Right For Life
Guest
Alt Right For Life
5 years ago

They’re going to need a rail road to get all that material up there….

Here we go again.

curlybill
Guest
curlybill
5 years ago

Read the specifications here
https://humboldtgov.org/2408/Humboldt-Wind-Energy-Project
The material will come in through the bay then through Fields Landing.

DELLIB
Guest
DELLIB
5 years ago
Reply to  curlybill

Talk about the big gov bulldozing the eel river for fiber optic lines and laying down concrete plants , doesn’t even include crazy chopper blades in the sky above bridgeville. Isn’t environmental damage being eradicated ?? O no, the one hand says ok, the other hand damage 10 fold.

PollyP
Guest
PollyP
5 years ago
Reply to  curlybill

Yup they’re going to have to modify 101 to get them through, expect lots of ugly temporary on/off ramps… because very few of the freeway bridges are tall enough to get the turbine & the truck through.

But it’s for the Free money from the Federal Government… not any environmental reason… If it was for the environment, they wouldn’t even try to put them here.

Just Saying
Guest
Just Saying
5 years ago

These humongous turbines will be something. Not sure it’s a good idea here; certainly not on any steep land. I agree with earlier comment to focus on individual energy generation through solar and small community based turbines. These giant turbines make a lot of noise, kill tons of birds, and are an eyesore, as well as requiring a tie-in with the transmission lines. Lots of construction for those megawatts.

Lefty 4 life
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Lefty 4 life
5 years ago
Reply to  Just Saying

You know there are two things you probably LOVE that kill literally billions of birds….GLASS WINDOWS AND OUTDOOR CATS. I prefer wind turbines to coal fired electrical generation😊

Shel
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Shel
5 years ago
Reply to  Lefty 4 life

so what are your statics for each? from what I hear, the turbines are worse than cats and windows combine but like I said ‘hear’ … would be interested in proven stats from reputable source if you have them. Thanks

Lefty 4 life
Guest
Lefty 4 life
5 years ago

I hope they apply more brains to this than they have to cannabis or eucalyptus

Passing Through
Guest
Passing Through
5 years ago

Sounds like some solid blue collar work if renewable energy moves in. I’d be more than happy to look at these “eyesores” knowing they are providing reliable, taxable, employment.

Heck, we might even get a halfway decent harbor to barge those behemoths in with.

PollyP
Guest
PollyP
5 years ago

There is no taxable employment from these things. No one in Hum Co is capable of working on them and they’ll be administered from far away. Read up on this before you kneejerk “GREAT IDEA”. They’re not going to change a thing in the harbor, read the documents first!

Loon
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Loon
5 years ago

Yes migratory raptors and other birds fly around . In Sonoma county they put the turbines right in their path. Literally a slaughter every year. Hmmmm wonder if they might think of doing that here? Pesky raptors! Sigh EIR my butt. Literally lolol

TQM
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TQM
5 years ago
Reply to  Loon

Where are the wind turbines in Sonoma County? Or are you just another misinformed troll?

Ullr Rover
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Ullr Rover
5 years ago
Reply to  TQM
TQM
Guest
TQM
5 years ago
Reply to  Ullr Rover

Ullr, adding wind power to the energy portfolio is not the same thing as building wind turbines – which is what LOON is referring to. People need to understand that the wind energy produced in one location is sold to the highest bidder in another location – and is transported via the PG&E energy grid. The energy produced by wind turbines in Humboldt will most likely be directed to consumers of the energy in a far off location (even another state is possible).

THC
Guest
THC
5 years ago

I’ve been living off the grid since I was born, my father had solar and hydro powering the house. over the years we’ve tried many different ways of producing cheap reliable energy. By far the biggest waste of time and money that I put into ways of producing power was the windmill I bought.
If the California government legitimately wants to switch to renewable resources and provide clean energy to the people of California, instead of giving tax incentives to Big corporations to produce clean energy, that is just not feasible to produce in mass scale because of the cost of these huge turbines or huge solar arrays and then the energy lost in the transfer. They should instead give every citizen a certificate to install solar and windmills and Battery Banks for their houses, apartment buildings, trailers Etc. This is the only way these kind of energy sources work. Otherwise it’s geothermal or wave generation(especially since damming Rivers for hydroelectric is no longer considered green) gasification would be another good one, we certainly have enough biomass around here to run a biomass generator. But then there’s the emissions of said generator that would have to be dealt with. I think geothermal is probably the best, using the temperature of the earth to heat water into steam and use the steam to turn turbines.

Bushytails
Guest
Bushytails
5 years ago
Reply to  THC

Off-grid renewables are an utterly bad idea when grid power is an option. Batteries are very expensive (in fact, they generally store less power over their life than could have simply been purchased with the same amount of money), maintenance-intensive (flooded cells are the worst, but all batteries need periodic replacement), and their manufacturing and recycling, depending on technology, can be relatively messy and polluting. You should avoid batteries if at all possible. They’re also (depending on type) inefficient, and power is wasted in inverters and such, as dc-ac inverters run a lot less efficient than grid-tie inverters. You also lose the benefits of an interconnected grid, such as transferring power from areas with surplus generation to areas with surplus demand – and this is an especially helpful thing with all renewables except hydro, due to their intermittent nature.

We already have two major biomass plants, which can consume our local biomass production. However, one of them (blue lake) is going to be shut down soon. If you want to preserve this renewable power source, write to the people killing the blue lake plant.

Geothermal is very geography-dependent. We have some geothermal plants a bit south of here (Calistoga has a major one, for example), where the geography is more conducive to them.

As to cost of huge turbines and solar arrays, it’s actually much much cheaper than home turbines and home solar arrays – economies of scale are a thing. A big thing.

Ullr Rover
Guest
Ullr Rover
5 years ago
Reply to  Bushytails

Modern inverters are very efficient converting at around 98% when running near capacity. Also, lead acid batteries are 99% recyclable.

That’s not to say that the idea of a grid should be abandoned. If each house was able to produce enough power for self-suffiency plus feed some back to the grid the grid would be a more resilient system than it is now.

Ben
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Ben
5 years ago
Reply to  THC

Small scale wind is very expensive compared to small scale solar. Large scale wind is cheaper than large scale solar

Bushytails
Guest
Bushytails
5 years ago

I’ve driven through areas that have similar turbines, and they looked nice and made no noise I could hear. Yes, they are huge – very, very huge – but not unattractive. As to birds… global warming is going to kill a lot more birds than wind turbines will.

EDIT: You might not appreciate just how huge they are until you see one in person… The large ones are half the height of the empire state building, including the antenna on top, or close to the height of the eiffel tower… except unlike these structures, they’re almost as wide as they are tall, if you count the swept area of the blades. They’re a beautiful piece of engineering.

DELLIB
Guest
DELLIB
5 years ago

IIt’s a great idea i’m gonna install a turbine on the arm of my couch , then when I break some wind I can use the power to run the blender to mix the margaritas. That’s the only wind energy that makes any sense.

Central HumCo
Guest
5 years ago

County Preparing blah, . . . blah . . . blah. Sounds like two marbles rolling around in an empty can.

https://www.nytimes.com/video/world/asia/100000006027169/stranded-missing-or-dead-inside-the-aftermath-of-laoss-collapsed-dam.html What’s Left in Laos After a Massive Dam Collapse (hydro-electric under construction)

https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/01/05/oroville-dam-new-report-details-what-caused-the-near-disaster-last-year/ Oroville Dam: Designer of Failed Spillway had almost no experience.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSrRyAYgw34&t=92s Dead Harvest 38 mins.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QL8YJQbugoI Lake Las Vegas

https://tickets.deathofanationmovie.com/ Death of a Nation. Can we save America a second time? New York Times Best-Selling Author 2016 and America, Dinesh D’Souza, and Gerald R. Molen –Academy Award winning producer of Schindler’s List and Jurassic Park.

Why would anyone put their trust in those who have proved to be so untrustworthy?

TQM
Guest
TQM
5 years ago
Reply to  Central HumCo

Central HumCo -[edit] If you were really anti-govt, you wouldn’t be on this thread let alone using the internet.

Central HumCo
Guest
5 years ago

What happened to the “Wind Farms” the infamous Redwood Coast Energy Authority (sic) was going to put 20 miles out off the coast? I’m not reading newspapers this year, perhaps THE AUTHORITY did a retract?

On the serious side . . . the compliant know-nothing do-gooders gotta go. If it smells like sh, it’s sh.

Ben
Guest
Ben
5 years ago

It’s about time Humboldt got a wind farm, cuz this place seriously blows. As cannabis prices continue to fall, wind power will be our next big greenrush.