HOME

County exploring turbines to offset loss of timber revenue

By RAELYNN RICARTE

News staff writer

Two separate grassroots groups have formed to stop Hood River County from generating revenue by erecting wind turbines on Middle Mountain.

Nilsa Zeman is the chief petitioner for Protect Hood River County and has filed an initiative petition with the county election’s office. If she and other members of the group can gather 446 signatures by June 23, then Measure 14-38 will be brought before the electorate in a special election on Sept. 21.

Voters will be asked to decide if the county should be prohibited from utilizing public resources to install or operate any wind turbine exceeding 150 feet.

That size of turbine is typically erected to produce power for a single user, such as a household or a business. The Hood River County Commission has been exploring the possibility of installing six community-scale turbines of 330 feet from base to blade tip on government-owned forest land in Dee.

County officials believe that electricity generated from the project could be sold on the grid to offset some of the $2 million currently lost per year in timber receipts.

“The total cost of the proposed wind farm is $24 million,” said Zeman. “That is twice the annual budget of the county and equates to $1,000 per man, woman and child.

“Also, the size of the turbine being proposed is equivalent to a 30-story skyscraper and actually taller than the Statue of Liberty.

“Obviously, the public should have a say on whether or not to go ahead with a project of this magnitude. The voice of the people will be heard through their ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ vote on the initiative.”

She said more information about the campaign, including where petitions will be posted for signing, can be found at www.GorgeForum.org.

Working independently from LCD, but following a parallel path regarding education, is Stop Wind Farms in the Hood River Valley.

Pat Case, a member of SWFHRV, said data is posted at www.stopwindfarms here.org that shows the health, financial and environmental risks related to the project. She said the county’s proposal is industrial-scale due to the size and placement of turbines.

She said the sweep of the large blades can kill eagles/raptors, bats and migrating geese. In addition, she said elk herds could be driven away from their historic feeding grounds.

Case said the turbines also have the potential to negatively affect the health of nearby residents and impair the scenic vistas of the valley.

She said even a 5 percent reduction in the estimated $63.3 million of annual tourism spending in the county would mean the loss of $3.16 million.

“I don’t think that people, once informed, really want to see our beautiful valley negatively transformed by this wind farm,” said Case.

SWFHRV urges citizens to read more about the issues related to wind farms on its website. The group then invites residents to share their concerns with the county board as soon as possible — or sign LCD’s petition.

“I think the county is hell-bent to do this no matter what and the fact that they didn’t take it to the people for a vote appears to support that intention,” said Case.

David Meriwether, county administrator, said many of the questions raised by both citizen groups will be answered at some point in the methodical process undertaken by officials.

He said the commission in 2004 made it a top priority to pursue renewable energy projects and the path forward has taken place one step at a time.

For example, he said a discussion about the merits of the project was untimely until an analysis of wind velocity determined whether power production was even viable.

“The commission is aware of the concerns brought forward by citizens and, certainly, if the decision is made to go forward with the project, we’ll try to address all of those as best we can,” said Meriwether.

He said public meetings have been held every time that new information has been compiled by county officials.

The next airing of data, said Meriwether, will take place in mid-May and involve the economic feasibility of the project. The county board expects to learn exactly what the costs will be to install and maintain the turbines. In addition, an estimate will be given about the revenue that can be expected from the production of electricity.

Meriwether said a maximum of $50,000 has been spent so far to explore the renewable energy option. If the financial analysis is favorable, he said a significant amount of revenue will be required to complete the next series of studies.

He said an analysis still needs to be done on the health and environmental aspects of turbine placement.

Meriwether said the citizen initiative has added another element to the county board’s upcoming discussion. He said officials will now have to also consider whether to expend money on further studies until citizens have weighed in on the issue in September.

“It remains to be seen which direction the commission will decide to go,” said Meriwether.

Zeman and Case both believe that the county will never generate enough power to recoup its investment into a wind farm.

Meanwhile, the local government is preparing to spend about $9,000 to hold the election, based upon the amount outlaid on the countywide gas tax election in November.