Giant Idaho wind project runs into turbulence
By Bonner Cohen, Ph. D. |March 4th, 2023|Energy|3 Comments
Plans by a New York company, LS Power, to put up as many as 400 soaring wind turbines on 76,000 acres (about 12 square miles) on federal land outside of Twin Falls, Idaho have sparked outrage among local residents and officials, as well as the state’s governor.
Known as Lava Ridge, the wind project is part of the Biden administration’s goal of producing 25 gigawatts of renewable energy on federal land by 2025. LS Power claims construction of Lava Ridge will pump $500 million into the local economy, produce $4 million in local taxes, and generate enough power to supply as many as 300,000 homes.
Locals, however, fear that the giant turbines with their spinning rotors will blight the area’s picturesque high-desert scenery, with its sagebrush, cheatgrass, and outcroppings of lava from long-dormant volcanoes.
Ranchers who lease allotments from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to run their cattle near the proposed site believe that Lava Ridge, which would be one of the nation’s largest wind projects, will forever change the area’s character, and not for the better.
https://www.cfact.org/2023/03/04/giant-idaho-wind-project-runs-into-turbulence/
