Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2007 • Invenergy Wind proposes 100 MW wind farm in Lassen County

Publisher’s note: This story originally appeared in the Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2007 edition of the Lassen County Times.

Invenergy Wind, one of the world’s largest wind power producers, plans to build a 100-megawatt wind farm on the ridge tops south of Fredonyer Peak and near the Horse Lake Valley.

Invenergy is a privately held developer, owner and operator of large-scale electricity generation assets in North America and Europe. The company has active development in more that 20 states in the U.S. along with development programs in Europe and Canada. Invenergy primarily originates and develops its own wind projects from concept through completion and long-term operation. With the long-term perspective, Invenergy takes a proactive approach to building strong relationships with various project stakeholders including landowners, host communities and power purchase clients.

According to a press release dated Wednesday, Sept. 19, the company has “acquired rights on private and federal land managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management in Lassen County for the development of the Horse Lake Wind Farm generating up to 100 megawatts of electrical power.”

Matt Giblin, Invenergy’s project manager, said the company made a “service request” to the Lassen Municipal Utility District on Sept. 19 to provide the electrical transmission component of the project which consists of 67 turbines.

The nearest residential area will be more than four miles away from the wind farm, and once the initial construction phase of the project is complete, it will only affect about 100 acres of remote, mountain land.

According to the company’s release, “Developing renewable energy resources is critically important to reduce our reliance of fossil fuels, increase energy independence and meet the challenge of complying with climate change legislation. California requires the state’s largest utility companies to generate at least 20 percent of their power supplies from clean, renewable sources by the year 2010. Likewise, the National Energy Policy Act encourages the development of renewable energy sources and the BLM is specifically directed to facilitate wind energy development on public lands. This project alone will generate enough electricity to power more than 30,000 homes annually with pollution-free, renewable energy.”

Giblin said the company would invest about $250 million to develop the clean and renewable energy source. Over the lifetime of the project, Lassen County would reap about $51 million in new revenues.

A project fact sheet said the project would “provide $12 million in revenues to Lassen Municipal Utility District which the district can use to stabilize rates, increase the reliability of local power distribution and make other improvements to the system.”

Giblin said should LMUD provide the transmission lines for the project, the publicly-owned utility could loop its system to Eagle Lake which would improve its service to its customers and lessen the impact of power outages in Lassen County due to inclement weather.

“Wind farming represents an opportunity for Lassen County to gain millions of dollars in additional public revenues from a clean industry that uses a completely renewable resource,” Giblin said. “Lassen County residents, especially those in the Eagle Lake and Willow Creek areas will also benefit from substantial improvements to the local power system, resulting in increased liability. What wind energy really offers Lassen County is massive tax revenues, skilled jobs and a new high tech private sector industry, all the while making few demands on county services and occurring almost totally on federal lands.”

Giblin said about 20 percent of the proposed 67 towers would be located on private land, and for that reason county government would have to be involved in the process — leading to reviews to meet both The California Environmental Quality Act and NEPA requirements

According to its website, CEQA is a statute that requires state and local agencies to identify the significant environmental impacts of their actions and to avoid or mitigate those impacts, if feasible.

According to its website, “NEPA requires federal agencies to integrate environmental values into their decision making processes by considering the environmental impacts of their proposed actions and reasonable alternatives to those actions. To meet this requirement, federal agencies prepare a detailed statement known as an Environmental Impact Statement. EPA reviews and comments on EISs prepared by other federal agencies, maintains a national filing system for all EISs, and assures that its own actions comply with NEPA.”

Giblin said each review will have to comply with state and federal regulations, but since the largest number of wind turbines would be install on BLM land, he expects BLM will assume responsibility as the overall lead agency for the project. He said the wind farm has a number of supporters locally and that such projects normally enjoy strong support from farmers, ranchers and environmental groups.

Lisa Yarbrough, a spokeswoman from KP Public Affairs, a company that represents Invenergy Wind, said it was important the public recognize the process is transparent and the community will have ample opportunity to comment on the project as it moves through its environmental reviews.

Giblin said it was good to have the county government involved with the project and added he presented a map detailing the wind turbines sites to the Lassen County Board of Supervisors a couple of weeks ago.

He said several towers located at the southern end of the proposed project have been moved two or three miles north to reduce the visual impacts on the Willow Creek area.

“Every aspect of the project will be subject to a rigorous, independent and objective analysis to make certain it complies with both state and federal environmental requirements,” the company said in its release.

“We are committed to working with the community to ensure that this project will meet the highest standards for environmental protection,” Giblin said. “By using the most advanced technology and conducting rigorous environmental studies at the project location, we have been able to greatly minimize environmental impacts, especially those to birds. Best of all, the new turbines are extremely quiet.”

According to the company’s release, the Environmental Impact Statement required for the project is a yearlong process. There will also be extensive public hearings where residents can express their concerns and get their questions answered.

“Any significant environmental impacts of the project will be fully mitigated as required by the law,” the company’s press release said.

A couple of rumors circulating around Lassen County regarding the wind generation towers are untrue.

For example, Giblin said no one who serves on the LMUD board of directors has signed a contract with his company.

He also said the company was not planning a huge electrical transmission line project to serve the wind generators.

He said the transmission portion of the project would feature single wood pole structures that are not much bigger than the lines that current run along Highway 139. He said the 60 kv line would be similar to the line that runs from the power plant in Wendel.

“Wind farms generate zero air emissions and co-exist well with farming and especially ranching operations as cattle graze right underneath the turbines,” Giblin said. “Most of Invenergy’s projects have been built on farm and ranch land where the landowners have benefited from substantial lease payments for the siting of project facilities on their land. In fact, we have many landowners in the project area already signed up and very excited about the new opportunities.”

Invenergy Wind answers questions about the Horse Lake Wind Project in Lassen County
The following information came from an information packet provided by Invenergy Wind.

What is the project Invenergy proposes to build?
Invenergy is proposing to make a $250 million investment in the future of Lassen County for the development of clean, renewable wind energy. The company has acquired rights on approximately 100,000 acres of land belonging to local landowners and the U.s. Bureau of Land Management for the development of a wind farm generating up to 100 megawatts of electrical power. A 100 MW project will require 67 turbines.

What benefits would the project bring to Lassen County?
A 100 MW facility would generate approximately $51 million in new revenues for Lassen County over the life of the project. That’s money for additional public services that will be coming in every year and the county can use for highways, education, economic development or any other purpose. In addition, the project will provide $12 million in annual revenues to the Lassen Municipal Utility District that the district can use to stabilize rates, increase the reliability of local power distribution and make other improvements to the system.

In addition to the fees Invenergy has proposed to pay local landowners, LMUD and the county, the company will pay for substantial enhancements to the LMUD system as well as road improvements in connection with the wind farm’s development. During construction, at least 150 new jobs will be created and there will be increases in the amount of money the county receives in sales taxes due to the purchases Invenergy will be making from local businesses, contractors and suppliers. Invenergy is currently preparing a detailed analysis of the overall economic impact of the project that it will share with the community as soon as it is completed.

Why wind energy?
Developing renewable energy resources is critically important to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, increase energy independence and meet the challenge of complying with climate change legislation. California requires the state’s largest utility companies to generate at least 20 percent of their power supplies from clean, renewable sources by the year 2010. Likewise the National Energy Policy Act encourages the development of renewable energy sources and the BLM is specifically directed to facilitate wind energy development on public lands. Invenergy’s proposal offers Lassen County the opportunity to apply the most advanced 21st Century technology to the development of one of Lassen’s most valuable and under-utilized resources — the wind.

Who is Invenergy?
Invenergy is a developer, owner and large-scale operator of large-scale energy generation assets in North America and Europe. The company has active development in more than 20 states in the U.S. along with development programs in Canada and Europe. Invenergy primarily originates and develops its own wind projects from conception through completion and long-term operation. With this long-term perspective, Invenergy takes a proactive approach to building strong relationships with various project stakeholders including landowners, host communities and power purchase clients.

Will the project provide LMUD with a cheap, new source of power?
LMUD could choose to retain some of the power generated by the Invenergy project for use in Lassen County. But wind energy is generally more expensive than power generated from other sources. Rather than using this more expensive power locally, it can be sold to utilities elsewhere in California that need to meet their mandates for renewable energy supplies. LMUD could then apply the revenues it receives for transmitting the power to buy its own supplies at a lower price.

Where will the towers for the new wind farm be located?
The wind towers will be located along ridgelines south of Fredonia Peak in the Horse Lake area. The towers will be placed on remote mountain ridges and the nearest residential area will be more than four miles away. There are two possible routes for the transmission lines that will be evaluated in the environmental review documents. One of the routs would involve upgrading and replacing existing LMUD transmission lines and the other would require that Invenergy install new transmission lines.

What affect with the project have on the environment?
Invenergy is in the business of environmental protection through the development of clean, renewable energy. Every aspect of the project will be subject to a rigorous, independent and objective analysis to make certain it complies with both sate and federal environmental requirements. The project will undergo a comprehensive environmental review that is compliant with both the National Environmental Policy Act and the California Environmental Quality Act. Invenergy is committed tow working with the community to ensure this project will meet the highest standards for environmental protection.

The environmental review document will be made public and there will be an opportunity for community members and stakeholders to comment on the document. There will also be extensive public hearings where residents can express their concerns and get their questions answered. Any adverse impacts of the project will be fully mitigated as required by law.

How much will this project change Lassen County?
Once the initial construction phase has been completed, this project will only affect 100 acres of remote mountain lands. From some areas the towers will be visible at a great distance. But the greatest lasting impact will come from the increased revenues it provides for public services and the improvements it will make in the local power system.