Local Construction Trade Union Signs Labor Agreement With Terra-Gen for Wind Project Near Rio Dell

Press release from Terra-Gen (Please remember–This is not neutral reporting but a press release from one side of a situation):

Humboldt Del Norte Building & Construction Trades announce a project labor agreement with Terra-Gen that guarantees the Humboldt Wind Project will be built solely by union labor.

“The agreement also locks in local hire for this green build to keep our community dollars local.” said Jeff Hunerlach, District Representative for the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 3. “It also promotes the planet, saving clean energy that is provided by wind farms, with special environmental considerations to protect the avian populations in our area.”

“We consider the Humboldt Del Norte Building & Construction Trades an integral part of the local community and vital to the success of the Humboldt Wind Project. These formal agreements allow us to guarantee meaningful work for some of Humboldt’s most skilled workers, enabling new expertise and technologies in the renewable energy sector,” said Nathan Vajdos, Senior Director for Terra-Gen. “This partnership will provide up to 300 prevailing wage jobs and a renewable energy project that will benefit Humboldt County—we see this as a win-win agreement.”

“Alliances between labor and environmental organizations are crucial because of agreements like this one,” said John McEntagart, Business Manager for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 551. “Thanks to the advocacy of our union members we will have family sustaining work, planet sustaining clean energy, and a compromise to benefit everyone at the table.”

The Humboldt Wind Project: The Humboldt Wind Project proposes a privately-financed, construction and operation of a wind energy project of capable of producing up to 155 MW of electricity, with a project footprint involving private property along Bear and Monument Ridges south of Rio Dell and Scotia.

Economic Benefits: The project will create short- and long-term employment opportunities by creating approximately 15 full-time jobs and approximately 300 prevailing wage construction jobs, and it will provide broader economic benefits to the County through increased spending in the community as a result of construction. The Project will also result in an estimated $50 million dollars in tax revenue over 30-years to Humboldt County.

Local and Regional Environmental Benefits: The Project will further numerous General Plan policies, all of which encourage the use of renewable energy resources. The Project will contribute 80 MW of power toward Redwood Coast Energy Authority’s target of 100% clean and renewable electricity by 2025, will produce more than 60% of the electricity used by Redwood Coast Energy Authority’s customers, who represent more than 90% of the electricity customers in Humboldt County, and will reduce reliance on local natural gas.

The project will displace emissions of approximately 384,068 metric tons per year of carbon dioxide that will otherwise be required to generate the same amount of electricity as this 155 MW project. The Project will provide $13.9M in necessary, local grid improvements that will improve the reliability and independence of Humboldt County’s grid.

Statewide Environmental Benefits: The Project will assist California in meeting the Renewable Portfolio Standard goals of 60% of the state’s electricity from eligible renewable energy resources by 2030, and it will contribute to a diversified statewide energy portfolio.

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Craig
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Craig
4 years ago

I was under the impression that this project was dead, this article seems to make the case that it isn’t so.

kelley
Guest
kelley
4 years ago
Reply to  Craig

Terra gen was denied by the planning commission. It has been appealed to the Board of Supervisors.

Jeffersonian
Guest
Jeffersonian
4 years ago
Reply to  kelley

I am afraid the board has been purchased by terra gen

Bushytails
Guest
Bushytails
4 years ago
Reply to  Jeffersonian

I’m much more worried about the Wiyot being purchased by the oil industry.

SmallFry
Guest
SmallFry
4 years ago
Reply to  Bushytails

Sooo, is what you’re saying BT, is that the Wiyot get absolutely no say on these giant windmills they will have endure every day for the rest of eternity?

Unharnessed energy
Guest
Unharnessed energy
4 years ago
Reply to  SmallFry

Probably because it will ruin the view from their casino. Not that the hilltop belongs to them anymore, but lets ignore that.

SmallFry
Guest
SmallFry
4 years ago

SURRRE, and just ignore exactly HOW it is that land isn’t “owned” by them anymore..

Besides the Casino, there are obviously generations of Wiyot living on the Rez. Obviously.. but you know, ignore the obvious..

hmm
Guest
hmm
4 years ago
Reply to  Jeffersonian

They have been, some took free helicopter rides, paid for by terra-gen.

Kym
Guest
Kym
4 years ago
Reply to  Craig

I heard that these folks took there toys and went home. Who invited them back?

Mr. Bear
Guest
Mr. Bear
4 years ago
Reply to  Kym

You heard wrong

lizard
Guest
lizard
4 years ago

Be very clear, this is a press release from Terra-Gen, which understandably omits some important adverse impacts of this industrial wind factory. It is not an approved project as it was denied by the county planning commission. That denial was appealed by Terra-Gen to the Board of Supervisors, which will hold a hearing on Monday December 16 at the Adorni Center in Eureka.

Just Sayin
Guest
Just Sayin
4 years ago
Reply to  lizard

It wasn’t denied, it just wasn’t approved. They passed the buck to the BOS, just because a small portion of the community turns out to show their NIMBYISM doesn’t mean jack!

lizard
Guest
lizard
4 years ago
Reply to  Just Sayin

Yes, the Humboldt County Planning Commission DID deny the project by a vote of 4 to 2. Terra-Gen appealed that decision, thus the Board of Supervisors hearing on the project on December 16.

hmm
Guest
hmm
4 years ago
Reply to  Just Sayin

It was denied. There was a robust turn out to protest this green-washed project, a project that we do not want in anyone’s back yard.

angie Brenes
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angie Brenes
4 years ago
Reply to  lizard

thank you

Sue Moore
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Sue Moore
4 years ago

This is a classic strategy by a company that is on the losing end of a major vote. Pulling in the Labor Union immediately draws in another consitutuent with well funded backing. The tactics employed by corporations to undermine their opponents, especially those that are defending the environment, should be seen for what they are.
Sadly the earth cannot speak for itself, as we know.
It’s a desperate distraction, and sadly the jobs created are nothing in comparison with the wealth generated for the share holders.

lorax
Guest
lorax
4 years ago
Reply to  Sue Moore

i thunk this ‘not in my back yard’ attitude needs to be looked at a bit closer. we all want power but the general opinion seams to be we would rather burn fossil fuels than to look at wind mills. i think that is very short sited. we should be proud of this project and welcome solutions to the crisis we are all facing

Someone
Guest
Someone
4 years ago
Reply to  lorax

Try looking into how these are built, and at the problems others have had with that company and you may not feel the same. A product cant just be considered “green” in its function. How its made matters. The company in charge matters.

the misadventures of bunjee
Guest
the misadventures of bunjee
4 years ago
Reply to  Someone

No project comes without accepting some risk. Even a toilet requires an electrified factory to produce, and we like sanitation too, so….

Mr. Bear
Guest
Mr. Bear
4 years ago
Reply to  lorax

Stating that the concerns are because people don’t want to “look at wind mills” is a gross misstatement.

Yes, they are unsightly but the majority of concerns have been environmental or political

SmallFry
Guest
SmallFry
4 years ago
Reply to  lorax

It’s not just a matter of looking at them, even if that is part of the consideration.. it’s also a matter of them ripping up the landscape, creating a huge impact on our roads, and killing endangered species! As well as a matter of them being placed in a ecologically and culturally sensitive area! This project was already denied for the same reasons when Shell Oil tried to initiate this project!

well no
Guest
well no
4 years ago
Reply to  lorax

We dont want a project with these problems in anyone’s backyard, because it will not be a net benefit to the environment. Terra-gen admitted in the first public meeting the the project will not become carbon neutral in it’s lifetime, and that’s not even considering the removal of the site after the project lifetime, which terra-gen will not be responsible for. Also the EIR is woefully inadequate.

Charlie Brown
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Charlie Brown
4 years ago
Reply to  well no

Go figure

Just Saying
Guest
Just Saying
4 years ago
Reply to  Sue Moore

True

reality
Guest
reality
4 years ago

I worked one Union job in my life, worst Job I ever held. Was told if I kept complaining about Safety the Union would help fire me. Which finally happened cause I’d broken 19+ bones at a job once. What a crap hole Korbel Union was. Remember the man they ran over with equipment and killed? At Orick you’d be fired for NOT following company procedures, at Korbel (where the death actually happened) you could NOT get them to follow procedure. I could go on and on about the lack of safety there. My back ground (near death included) was/is a Military Pilot, no way I was going to let it slide…

Union just didn’t give a crap.

Johnson
Guest
Johnson
4 years ago

I think it’s great when it’s built and I hope it is built that they’re going to use all local labor people want clean energy can’t get any cleaner than windmills and if you look around there are a lot of other places I’ve got windmills already

Steve Parr
Guest
Steve Parr
4 years ago
Reply to  Johnson

Unfortunately, signing an agreement with the Union does not in any way assure that all of the jobs will go to local contractors.

It just assures that the jobs will go to Union contractors, which actually locks out most locals.

Someone
Guest
Someone
4 years ago
Reply to  Johnson

Its not a windmill its a wind turbine. And all the toxins that go into making it cancel out any “green” effect. Research it before you praise it. Making solar and wind are both highly toxic and unregulated. That is a fact.

msknowitall
Guest
msknowitall
4 years ago
Reply to  Someone

A wise person (who worked as a technician and adviser for local domestic solar installations) once told me, “All human activity is entropic,” meaning, simply, there is NOTHING we can do that does not have some destructive impact. It’s true that construction, shipping, and installation of even the greenest–operating energy sources involve extraction of resources, pollution, the use of energy currently generated mostly by fossil fuels, environmental damage during installation and possibly during operation. But when we evaluate what source we want for energy in the long haul, we have to balance risks. In general, I think the damage done in creating solar and wind power installations is not nearly as bad, especially over time, as continuing to burn fossil fuels. That does not mean than any individual project, including this Terra Gen project, should be approved without a lot of scrutiny and the chance that the cost (in all senses) will exceed the benefit. But it’s stupid to condemn all solar and wind power as “toxic.” Consider the alternatives.

Someone
Guest
Someone
4 years ago
Reply to  msknowitall

Do you have any idea how they make solar panels? Its leaves a higher carbon footprint than any form of energy. Just the making. They dump loads of toxic silicon and metal in the process of making them. You might wanna look into that a bit more before you decide its better than what we already have. It isnt. No matter which way you spin it its a worse polluter than any other power source.

Thesteve4761
Guest
Thesteve4761
4 years ago
Reply to  Someone

That is some utter rubbish.

Same folks who’ll tell you that polar bears are doing great!

Nein Rand
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Nein Rand
4 years ago
Reply to  Someone

Great. Sourcing an article from an objectivist organization makes me suspicious.

In my 1911 I trust
Guest
In my 1911 I trust
4 years ago
Reply to  Nein Rand

Solar is not a viable source of energy. It can be used somewhat for energy supplementation but not much else. The issue is space. One solar panel takes up a 2x4ft area and generates 255watts electricity. Start adding up square footage of areas needed to be powered and compare that to the amount of square feet necessary to generate that power. That’s just the panels, not the space for the inverters or batteries as well.

hmm
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hmm
4 years ago
Reply to  Johnson

Did uou know that other terra-gen sites use devices to help prevent bird strikes, and shut down during times when surveys show large numbers of birds? This project will not be getting those features. In fact one of the “mitigations” in the EIR is to use rodenticides to kill off the rodent prey-base, thus reducing raptor strikes.

Not all wind turbines are clean energy and certainly not all are green. Hard to call this power clean when the project will never become carbon neutral and generation only accounts for 13% of Humboldt’s CO2 emissions.

Perspective
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Perspective
4 years ago

Local labor = good. The whole project = bad.

Government Cheese
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Government Cheese
4 years ago
Reply to  Perspective

Less people=good. More people= less natural resources.

Perspective
Guest
Perspective
4 years ago

Yes, by simply being alive, we are part of the problem. However, we have choices to make. I choose not to support a turd in nice packaging.

Willow Creeker
Guest
Willow Creeker
4 years ago
Reply to  Perspective

I don’t get what’s so bad about this project. I listened to the eco news report interview with Cheryl Seidner of the Wiyot tribe. I’m sympathetic to an extent but let’s be practical. We need power here and nothing is going to be exactly perfect.
What is the problem with this project? If anyone has a real good reason that it’s so terrible, and its worse than burning fossil fuel right on humboldt bay (which is also wiyot sacred land I assume!) please let me know.
It’s environmentalism gone too far, seems to me. Yes we have too many people here. I get it but we need to solve problems as they exist right now. That’s how it works. Stop wringing you’re hands over every little detail that isn’t totally eco-groovy and let’s get back to a can-do attitude to make things happen around here. Or put your money where your mouth is and stop driving, using electricity, using your cell phone etc.

MBF
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MBF
4 years ago
Reply to  Willow Creeker

You said exactly what I was thinking. Wind is certainly better than fossil fuel, dams are out because of the fish. Would people prefer nuclear? I didn’t think so.

hmm
Guest
hmm
4 years ago
Reply to  MBF

Nuclear would be nice, I’d love to see thorium powered plants. But in the meantime, micro-solar and wind are fantastic. People who point out the cloudy conditions on Humboldts coast neglect to mention that solar panels works much better in cool weather, which offsets much of the cloudy weather on the coast.

IF this project included technology to avoid raptor strikes (like terra-gen had to use elsewhere) and had to shut down during peak bird seasons/times, and had real mitigations in the EIR (including carbon offsets to make the project carbon neutral), and included terra-gen being responsible for the site cleanup/concrete removal, and required that all power be used in Humboldt before any is exported, and required that pge make upgrades to allow Humboldt to be energy independent during PSPS’s . . .

well in that case construction would be underway soon.

Perspective
Guest
Perspective
4 years ago
Reply to  Willow Creeker

You are on to something with your last sentence, all though it doesn’t need to be so extreme. We should start with our own consumption and not just fuel and electricity, but everything we purchase. Why are we trying to create more energy instead of using less? The amount of CO2 and embodied energy this project will create will never be offset. Its a bandaid, not a solution. The very company that wants to bring green energy to us is the very same company fracking and extracting hydrocarbon from the earth. Do you really think they have your best interest in mind? What happens when they stop working in 25-30 years? do we then just need to suck it up and look at the junk they left behind? Look into how the people of upstate NY like their eco groovy wind project. If you are so in favor of alternative energy, start with your own home. Some of us have put our money where our mouth is and have been for decades. This isn’t new to some us.

Willow Creeker
Guest
Willow Creeker
4 years ago
Reply to  Perspective

I have solar and micro hydro year round at my house actually. And it’s great. You can say that we should all use less power but the reality is we are not going that direction with an expanding population and electric vehicles coming online. So I am talking about reality, and you are talking about coulda shoulda. I really like the idea of clean non fossil fuel energy, I don’t care if it’s a oil company heading the project. They are just a business like anyone else, good for them for going in the right direction. How much money do you hand over to renner every month? I know for me it’s a lot. It takes a lot of fuel to live in a beautiful remote area. I think everyone is acting like hippy-crits here. A good applicable quote for this situation: “don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good”

hmm
Guest
hmm
4 years ago
Reply to  Willow Creeker

You really dont have a grasp on this project at all. Terra-gen admits that this project will not become carbon neutral in it’s lifetime. The project will be a net harm to the environment. No one is “wringing their hands over every little detail”, since the big picture presents plenty of problems.

Sparkelmahn
Guest
Sparkelmahn
4 years ago

That’s why I say “smoke em if you got em”.

B Honest
Guest
B Honest
4 years ago

This is an election year.
I am very curious who on the board of Supervisors votes yes on this.

It would be interesting to see how much Terra-Gen has donated to each incumbent supervisor running for reelection?

The people say no, the tribe said no and now we wait for the BOS to say no thanks.

Willie Caos-mayham
Guest
4 years ago

🕯🌳There going to build them and the ones offshore. 🏄‍♂️👁🤯

Jeffersonian
Guest
Jeffersonian
4 years ago

I sure hope not

Willow Creeker
Guest
Willow Creeker
4 years ago
Reply to  Jeffersonian

What would you do Jeffersonian? What’s your answer or are you just against everything?

Steve Parr
Guest
Steve Parr
4 years ago

Yep. Our, “local power broker,” RCEA says so.

They also say there’s no way to guarantee that power stays here – it goes to the Grid, and we just have to take their word that the power that comes back from the Grid is magically separated out before it gets to us, so we aren’t using any of that messy gas-fired electricity that was generated right next to us, at King Salmon.

Their goal is to get these windmills up, and within five years (2025) have everyone in Humboldt County
bamboozled into believing that, even though the gas plant, the biomass plants, the hydro-electric plants, and their windmills feed into the same lines, RCEA is able to filter out just the, “good,” electricity, and deliver it to us – for a fee.

RCEA also says we’re going to have 22,000 new electric vehicles on Humboldt County’s roads by 2030, so you can see why they want the windmills.

It’s hard to claim world-wide carbon-neutral electricity generating fame, if you’re powering your fleet of EVs from dirty old gas-fired electricity.

Our, “local power broker,” has been skimming the till for so long, to finance their bid for fame, why deny them now?

the misadventures of bunjee
Guest
the misadventures of bunjee
4 years ago
Reply to  Steve Parr

Those same power brokers are collecting a small fee on each and every one of our PG&E bills to promote and get these projects built.

Taurus Ballzhoff
Guest
Taurus Ballzhoff
4 years ago

Unions suck. Period.

The connections between the Unions, organized crime, and the wealthy, are undeniable. Unions do nothing for you, or for union labor. Unions only serve themselves, and, union leaders, and persons operating unions, often enrich themselves on the backs of the membership, kind of like exploiting the folks they purport to be saving from exploitation, so that they can be exploited by someone else.

This press release is so political, so disgusting, and so unrepresentative of the local populace, that I feel compelled to point out once again, that this project is a stupid idea, proposed to be built in a highly sensitive environment, which is considered to be sacred to Native Americans. There are many environmentalists opposed to this project, and, many militant anti-corporate crazies who would make it very expensive to build, indeed. The infrastructure required here will place a huge strain on highways (which are already inadequate and mostly not in very good condition), local housing, and most support businesses, such as they are. If completed, the project would have to survive extremes of weather, maintenance, and probable constant attacks and vandalism.

It’s a bad project, in a stupid and inappropriate location, and, it will not contribute significantly to solving energy problems, in Humboldt, in the short or long term.

Please go to the “appeal” and oppose this project, before the Supervisors, who have obviously been paid off by Terra-Gen and probably the union, before the BOS simply rubber stamps the project!

Remember, lies told supposedly for the greater good, are still lies!

Bushytails
Guest
Bushytails
4 years ago

And how about lies that are simply harmful instead of for the greater good?

hmm
Guest
hmm
4 years ago

Unions are responsible for revolutionizing employment in this nation and around the globe. Yes many have fallen to capitalist infiltration and regulatory capture, but that is a problem with economic regulation, not unions.

In this case I stand firmly against the unions mentioned.

Sparkelmahn
Guest
Sparkelmahn
4 years ago
Reply to  hmm

Don’t mind Billy; just another useful pawn for the rich.

In my 1911 I trust
Guest
In my 1911 I trust
4 years ago
Reply to  hmm

Unions should’ve dissolved years ago. There is no place for them in today’s society

Dazed and Confused
Guest
Dazed and Confused
4 years ago

Terra Gen is worried. They realize that the location is absolutely horrible. They definitely had their hand in writing the press release. CDFW and DWR, two State responsible and trustee agencies have recommended denial. First time in Humboldt County history that the Planning Department has recommended approval of a project where a State agency, let alone two, have recommended denial. In addition, the Coastal Commission and the USFW have expressed serious concerns and reservations about the project.

If the BOS approves the project, it will have a significant impact on the 2020 Supervisor elections. It will likely cost Bohn and Fennell their jobs.

Ernie Branscomb
Guest
4 years ago

Sue Moore said: “Sadly the earth cannot speak for itself”. Sadly, the Earth can speak for itself, and it does. It’s saying that “there are too many people”. Too many people that need to be kept fed, warm and clothed.

Human nature is guilty of over-consuming, and human nature will not change. We are no longer able to live in an Ideal world. So…Where do we go from here?

Is it possible to just put this question on a ballot and not put the supervisors in an impossible situation? Food and energy are MAJOR issues. We are approaching the point where unless we choose wisely “Mother Earth” is going to decide these issues for us.

Willie Caos-mayham
Guest
4 years ago

🕯🌳No one’s come up with a better idea. There’s solar but they haven’t really thrown there that into the game from anyone. If someone doesn’t do something really quick then then or more years of black outs until they get there equipment upgraded. 👍🏽🇺🇸

Perspective
Guest
Perspective
4 years ago

LOL! A wind farm on the ridges of Humboldt means no more black outs?

Who is “they” and “someone”? Isn’t that you and us? You put your faith in a for profit company that tells you this project is good for us and the environment? The SAME company that fracks for oil and extracts hydrocarbon from the earth? How blind does a man need to be before he sees the truth?

Steve Parr
Guest
Steve Parr
4 years ago

I thought we were done with this stupidity.

This project will do nothing to prevent local PSPSs. On the contrary, since it would add a new set of lines through a potentially high risk area, I would say it would increase the chance of one.

Mr. Bear
Guest
Mr. Bear
4 years ago
Reply to  Steve Parr

Absolutely true

Willie Caos-mayham
Guest
4 years ago

🕯🌳Oh I think your right,but that’s how they’ll play it off unless somebody comes up with a different plan. 🇺🇸

Anon
Guest
Anon
4 years ago

Well, they said yes to the dirty frankenfish farm , so it will be no surprise if this gets foisted upon us as well.

We are scroomed. (Screwed/doomed)

Protest Terra-Gen
Guest
Protest Terra-Gen
4 years ago

Terra-Gen Protest Rally and March to fight this project Saturday December 14th at noon. Meet in front of Scotia’s Winema theater at 12 p.m. and march to city hall in Rio Dell. You can find this event on Facebook for more info. If you can attend the Special meeting at the Adorni Center on December 16th at 9 a.m., please show up. Our Supervisors will vote YES if we don’t show up in big numbers.

Canyon oak
Guest
Canyon oak
4 years ago

Well, boomers have been stumping for renewable energy since they first took acid, so this is fundamentally a ponytail project. It’s unfortunate that alternative power generation always seems to turn into big solar, or big wind, but I don’t see a way around this tendency, if we are talking about creating power systems for thousands of people, it’s gonna be a big and imposing edifice.
Solar everything is how I would go, but I can’t impose my minimalist martyr life on all you Costco shoppers.
And as far as bear river ridge bieng sacred to certain people, well,
I thought table bluff was sacred too, but that picturesque casino reminds us to consider otherwise.
Power is what is sacred to all people.
And I don’t mean electric power.
I mean, the humanish desire to influence the power that sets the determining cultural narrative is what underlies every single negotiation between dissimilar people or interests. Nothing wrong with it, I suppose..
Like you didn’t already know, lol

hmm
Guest
hmm
4 years ago
Reply to  Canyon oak

The reason project seem to turn into BIG solar or BIG wind is that energy companies are struggling to keep the grid. They will have a very hard time bleeding us for profits if we have micro grids taking over.

Willow Creeker
Guest
Willow Creeker
4 years ago
Reply to  Canyon oak

Well put canyon oak

Non-Union American
Guest
Non-Union American
4 years ago

Well, if opponents of this project needed any more ammo, they just got it. Project Labor Agreements (PLA’s) are ridiculously unfair contracts which exclude at least 85% of the construction workforce.
Nationally, Unions represent approximately 15% of construction workers. It’s a far lower percentage in Humboldt County.
A PLA prevents open-wage (non-Union) shops from working on a project unless they become signatory to the Union and pay dues for benefits they will never receive. It also increases building costs exactly in the way Prevailing Wage projects increase costs.
One of the Union’s selling points for a PLA is that it will eliminate the possibility of a strike. HELLO?!? There is equally no possibility of a strike if there is no Union!
This is a perfect example of “Greenmail”. The Union will have serious Environmental concerns about the project, which will disappear completely (with no changes to the project) IF a PLA is signed by the Owner.
I supported this project until I read this press release.

hmm
Guest
hmm
4 years ago

I will be removing my International Union of Operating Engineers Local 3 sticker from my window today.

hmm
Guest
hmm
4 years ago

“The Project will provide $13.9M in necessary, local grid improvements that will improve the reliability and independence of Humboldt County’s grid.”

A blatant lie! There is no evidence whatsoever that this turbine project will aid Humboldt with energy independence. In fact fro what we know at this time, all evidence indicates that this project will not affect our energy independence one bit.

Taurus Ballzhoff
Guest
Taurus Ballzhoff
4 years ago
Reply to  hmm

AND: You will have to oppose this project, probably repeatedly!

It will be presented over and over, and, possibly, convoluted or changed. They will not give up!

Don’t stop protesting, and, I appreciate the intelligence outlined above.

If you like the idea of huge windmills on pristine ridges, look out in the desert South of Lone Pine at the large solar and wind projects. Nearby might benefit landowners and their cronies, might line the pockets of local politicians, but, these types of generation projects belong out where the buses don’t run…

Also, anyone who tells you that blackouts are caused because of a lack of local generating power, is lying, or delusional. The PSPS, was caused by politics, and by PG&E wanting someone else to take responsibility for PG&E’s negligence.

It’s a bad idea. Please oppose it, and continue to keep pressure on the “leaders” of Humboldt County.

Willie Caos-mayham
Guest
4 years ago

🕯🌳This time I kind of agree with you. The blackouts are caused by poor equipment not lack of power. Now its going to be caused by lack of technical support to fix the equipment.

Sara
Guest
4 years ago

Why were only the benefits of this project touted and not the environmental harms? Many damages to habitat and the extremely high carbon footprint of the construction itself have been mentioned in the reports and other articles by other outlets. I’m surprised at such one-sided reporting.

lizard
Guest
lizard
4 years ago
Reply to  Sara

This is a Terra-Gen press release as Kym clearly states at the introduction. There is lots of other information available which contradicts their press release.

Lynn H
Guest
Lynn H
4 years ago

Good. Thank you!
I so hope they do it. Also so glad they are being made to hire local people at livable wages. What a thought.

NIMBYs are always the loudest but not always the majority.

Steve Parr
Guest
Steve Parr
4 years ago
Reply to  Lynn H

Guess you didn’t read the article.

The agreement is to hire Union people, not local people (unless you count the Western United States as, “local”).

Wind turbine manufacturing, installation, and operation require specialized skills which few Union members in Humboldt County have. Certainly not 300 of them.

It’s possible some of the minor parts of the project would go to local Union shops, but they’ll be bidding against much larger operations, who do this for a living.

This whole press release is bullshit.

Dazed and Confused
Guest
Dazed and Confused
4 years ago

Will all the union labor come from Humboldt? No way, Jose! Is O&M a union shop? They are financial supporters of both Bohn, Fennell and I believe Bass.

It is an absolute lie that this project will make Humboldt energy independent. Even if they installed “switches/isolators” at the Bridgeville substation (which they are not), if there is little or no wind at the time we’re severed from the grid, we will basically have no power. I’m told that wind is the most inefficient of all renewable energy sources.

Taxes: At first the County was going to receive 80 million in property taxes over the 30 year life span of the project. Then it was 76 million. Then it was 70 million. Now its 50 million! What is it! Terra Gen – complete the Assessor information and turn it in. It really doesn’t matter, there is no way this project at this location can be found that the economic beneficial impacts outweigh the unavoidable significant environmental impacts.

Terra Gen is playing Humboldt like Dumboldt! With the cannabis industry failing, sales tax revenue down, property values down, they thought they could come to town and get this project approved.

Great idea, HORRIBLE Location! Let’s hope our Supervisors do the right thing and “Just Say No!”

BTW, did the Planning Department require Terra Gen to execute a “Hold Harmless and Indemnification Agreement” like they do for cannabis applicants? Let’s hope, because if they didn’t and the BOS approves, Humboldt County residents will foot the bill for another lawsuit.

SmallFry
Guest
SmallFry
4 years ago

Loud and Clear Dazed! TY!

Charlie
Guest
Charlie
4 years ago

This is just too damn ironic! I am listening to Jane Lapiner and David Simpson talking from the climate conference about the carbon crisis after flying there (big emissions) and then opposing this wind project. What a sorry joke! From pure schmint to pure schtick!

During the last king tide when the so called bomb cyclone hit I watched seawater washing over Centerville beach and covering many acres of pasture with salt water. It made its way about 6/10 of a mile inland poisoning the previously productive land with salt.

The ocean is rising, our forests are burning, and we have to accept the responsibility and start fixing things or we and the earth we love will face the consequences.

Steve Parr
Guest
Steve Parr
4 years ago
Reply to  Charlie

How long you been around, Charlie?

You said yourself: king tide, bomb cyclone. Of course the tide came in.

But it’s washed over Centerville Beach many a time before.

King tide, storm surge – water comes ashore.

In my 1911 I trust
Guest
In my 1911 I trust
4 years ago
Reply to  Charlie

That lagoon has been breached many times before. The rancher keeps an excavator down there so he can open the breach back up after the storm and drain his pasture, then he closes it back up again. Its pasture land for cows anyway, doesn’t produce anything except for grass.

Cindy
Guest
Cindy
4 years ago

With regards to the ‘ Conditional Use Permit’ for the Terra-Gen Project.
Supervisors’ Estelle Fennell and Rex Bohn need to address their same concerns for the environment regarding this project as they did at a recent Supervisor’s meeting following a presentation by Sheriff Bill Honsal reporting on the ‘illegal cannabis industry’.
Both Supervisors shared many concerns with the damage of illegal grows to the environment, some of which addressed ‘noise of diesel generators’, ‘light pollution on many of our ridge tops’, and to the irony of which Sheriff Honsal referred to as “Glow Worms’.
I believe most would agree, Monument Ridge is one of the most PRISTINE and undisturbed ridge tops of ALL Humboldt County. It is seen and enjoyed by many in the Eel River Valley. And especially to the residents of the Historical Town of Scotia and City of Rio Dell.
If Estelle and Rex vote for supporting ‘The Conditional Use Permit’ for this ‘Fast Tracked’ project, their words of concerns for our environment and the people they represent are mute and hypocritical.

Protest Terra-Gen
Guest
Protest Terra-Gen
4 years ago
Reply to  Cindy

Very well said. That’s exactly what I’ve been thinking! They tax the heck out of growers and require them to cover their greenhouses at night because of light polution, and yet they want to let Terra-Gen install 600 foot tall wind turbines on our highest ridgetops that will have daytime and nightime bright blinking lights on them. Look up “wind turbines at night” and “wind farms at night” on YouTube to see what these lights would look like. They would be seen for miles and miles because of the elevation of the ridgetops. Why are growers held to a higher light polution standard than Terra-Gen? If the Supes vote yes, they will be swimming in hypocrisy! Why hasn’t Estelle Fennell held a single Town Hall meeting about Terra-Gen in either Rio Dell or Scotia before voting on this debacle of a project?

SmallFry
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SmallFry
4 years ago
Reply to  Cindy

Exactly!

Ironhead
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Ironhead
4 years ago

I am only commenting on the issues that are being raised with the PLA associated with this project!

PLA- Project Labor Agreement.

These do not require a contractor to be Signatory to any union.

A contractor signed with a particular union has committed to providing a living wage, full medical, dental, vision, and retirement. They have also agreed to very specific working conditions that have been hard fought for going back to the days when workers died because of overworking or not having a job while the bosses lived very comfortably without a care for workers rights.

A non union shop can do whatever they want, especially in a highly anti workers rights area like the one this project is going to be. Most shops used to be union, but the owners manipulated the workers into decertifying from the union, and now hold all of the cards.

A PLA is the only way any worker is going to be guaranteed fair treatment, and the only way a Union Contractor will have a fair chance at getting the work. A PLA does only one thing, it guarantees that there is a level playing field for bidders, and that ALL workers on the project are protected from retaliation if they ask a Union Rep to help them resolve an issue, even if that person is not a union member.

Not all unions are the same, but I do know that there are more laws in place for unions to follow than for any other group. I have been a dues paying member since I was 17, and grew up in a household that supports those that break unions. I only know one thing, that my union has not only fought for my full benefits package, my training, and continues to fight for me and all workers union or not.

Remember this, those that don’t know their history are doomed to repeat it. There are not enough good people in this world to not need unions, and a PLA helps defend that.

Any comment you see that is anti PLA or anti union is anti workers rights, unless you are their family or good friend and are getting a cut. That is a blanket statement and is not saying all are that way, just too many.

Non-Union American
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Non-Union American
4 years ago
Reply to  Ironhead

Ironhead, there is so much misinformation in your comment. I will try to provide a respectful rebuttal.
Please note that I am not anti-Union. I am only anti-PLA.

1. Open wage (non-union) shops in Humboldt County have much experience with PLA’s. We’ve had to try working within them, and as a result of that experience, we fight against them whenever they come up. Non-Union contractors definitely have to become signatory to the Union for the duration of the project, in order to work on it. That is an indisputable fact.

2. When open wage shops are forced to sign with a Union to work on a project, they must pay into Union benefit programs they will receive no benefit from. This requirement does not eliminate the contractors existing burden of cost for medical and other benefits within their company. It doubles it!

3. Whatever your opinion about why there are fewer Union shops than there used to be, the fact is that over 85% of the construction industry is currently non-Union, and PLA’s are discriminatory against the overwhelming majority of construction workers.

4. The Davis-Bacon Act of 1931 leveled the playing field long ago for all contractors on Public Works projects, by establishing Prevailing Wages. Unions no longer need help to win bids on projects. PLA’s tilt the playing field up on its edge for Unions.

5. This is America. I can choose to work in a non-Union shop without being anti-Union or anti-workers rights. I can also be anti-PLA without being anti-Union or anti- workers rights.

In summary, I am very grateful for the advantages afforded me that were gained by Unions. That does not mean that I must join a Union, and it does not mean that I should support a one-sided contract that discriminates against 85% of all construction workers.

Lynn H
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Lynn H
4 years ago

” […] a highly anti workers rights area like the one this project is going to be. ”

Absolutely. From all layers of this society.

“A PLA is the only way any worker is going to be guaranteed fair treatment, and the only way a Union Contractor will have a fair chance at getting the work. A PLA does only one thing, it guarantees that there is a level playing field for bidders, and that ALL workers on the project are protected from retaliation if they ask a Union Rep to help them resolve an issue, even if that person is not a union member. ”

Thank you for that clarification. Honor labor!

Ironhead
Guest
Ironhead
4 years ago

There are 68,000 registered union apprentice in California, and 10,000 registered non union. If what you say is true about 85% non union construction in California, then 90% of that workforce is untrained.

Just saying