News
Category:
Nevada
Opponents of Searchlight wind energy project file federal lawsuit
April 21, 2013 by Thomas Mitchell in Watchdog Wire
April 21, 2013 by Thomas Mitchell in Watchdog Wire
Earlier this month, attorneys filed in U.S. District Court of Nevada what we will call for the sake of brevity Bundorf v. Salazar. (Searchlight wind suit) The suit accuses former Interior Secretary Ken Salazar of acting in "a manner that is arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, and contrary to law" when he granted permission for construction of an 87-turbine wind farm east of Searchlight on 19,000 acres of Bureau of Land Management land.
Also filed under [
Impact on Wildlife|
Impact on Landscape]
The 30-page complaint says that the environmental impact statement (EIS) "presents a one-sided and incomplete portrait of the proposed project and its likely adverse environmental impacts."
"The Project would pose significant adverse harm to a wide array of sensitive and protected species -- including desert tortoise, bighorn sheep, golden eagles, bald eagles, and resident and migratory birds and bats -- through direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts."
Lawsuit filed against wind energy project near Mojave Preserve
April 19, 2013 by Chris Clarke in ReWire
April 19, 2013 by Chris Clarke in ReWire
Plaintiffs charge that the project, to be built by Duke Energy, would (in the words of the suit) "pose significant adverse harm to a wide array of sensitive and protected species ... including desert tortoise, golden eagles, bald eagles, and residential and migratory birds and bats... through direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts" which weren't adequately addressed.
Also filed under [
Impact on Wildlife|
Impact on Landscape]
Lawsuit calls BLM's analysis of Nevada project 'one-sided and incomplete'
April 19, 2013 by Scott Streater in Greenwire
April 19, 2013 by Scott Streater in Greenwire
Environmentalists and three Nevada residents are suing the Interior Department over its approval of the Searchlight Wind Energy Project, arguing the wind farm would sit in an area of the Mojave Desert that would cause widespread damage to sensitive wildlife habitat.
Also filed under [
Impact on Wildlife|
Impact on Landscape]
Environmental groups sue federal agencies over Nev. wind project approval
April 16, 2013 by Michael Copley in SNL News
April 16, 2013 by Michael Copley in SNL News
The wind farm and its transmission lines "will dominate the Searchlight desert and mountains," and the turbines, "with spinning blades that reach as high as the top of Caesars Palace in Las Vegas," will ruin the area for visitors, residents and businesses, the complaint stated, as well as cause "significant harm" to an array of animals through "direct, indirect and cumulative impacts."
Also filed under [
Impact on Wildlife|
Impact on Landscape]
Campaign donors, politicians behind Searchlight wind project
April 11, 2013 by Kyle Gillis in Nevada Journal
April 11, 2013 by Kyle Gillis in Nevada Journal
The Department of the Interior may have recently approved the Searchlight Wind Project, but those who stand to benefit most from the project are politicians and well-connected campaign donors, and not the people of Searchlight.
"People from other communities told us, ‘you don't want [wind turbines],'" said Sandy Walters, chairwoman of the Searchlight Town Advisory Board. "We tried telling that to BLM and Duke Energy, too."
Also filed under [
General]
Searchlight wind farm could reduce property values by 25-60 percent, suggest studies
April 2, 2013 by Kyle Gillis in Nevada Journal
April 2, 2013 by Kyle Gillis in Nevada Journal
Recent studies and testimony by real estate appraisers from around the world indicate that properties within two to three miles of wind turbines have seen their values decline from 25 to 60 percent - with the decreased value being "tantamount to an inverse condemnation, or regulatory taking of private property rights."
Also filed under [
Impact on Economy|
Property Values]
Eagle death at Nevada wind farm brings federal scrutiny
March 26, 2013 by Henry Brean in Las Vegas ReviewJournal
March 26, 2013 by Henry Brean in Las Vegas ReviewJournal
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is conducting an investigation after a golden eagle was killed in late February at the Spring Valley Wind Farm, about 300 miles north of Las Vegas. ...the wind farm could face a fine of up to $200,000 because it does not hold a federal "take" permit that would allow the incidental death of a golden or bald eagle.
Stafford said the matter is under investigation by the service's Office of Law Enforcement.
Also filed under [
Impact on Wildlife|
Impact on Birds]
The approvals were for two solar and one wind projects, including NextEra Energy Inc's 750-megawatt McCoy Solar Energy Project in Southern California, the 150-megawatt Desert Harvest Solar Farm proposed by EDF Renewable Energy, also in Riverside County, and the 200-megawatt Searchlight Wind Energy Project in Nevada, south of Las Vegas. Searchlight, which is being developed by Duke Energy Corp, will use Siemens wind turbines.
Already a dead Golden eagle was found on February 25 at a wind turbine generator in the Spring Valley, a place with a dense population of eagles. Those who knew thae area had predicted eagle mortality was likely, but no one thought it would be so soon after the project was completed.
Also filed under [
Impact on Wildlife|
Impact on Bats]
Building a 75-foot-tall wind turbine adjacent to a quiet subdivision is a nuisance because, in part, it ruins the scenery and creates noise, the Nevada Supreme Court has ruled.
Also filed under [
Impact on Landscape]
Critics: NV Energy undercuts renewable energy development
September 30, 2012 in Reno Gazette-Journal
September 30, 2012 in Reno Gazette-Journal
Critics say Nevada's largest utility is undercutting the spirit of legislation designed to spur renewable energy development by purchasing power from out-of-state sources. ...the company has used wind power from Wyoming, geothermal from Utah and hydropower from Idaho dams to help it meet the state's requirement.
Also filed under [
Energy Policy]
Northern Nevada wind power pioneers hit snag; vertical turbines not delivering savings as promised
September 22, 2012 by Brian Duggan in Reno Gazette-Journal
September 22, 2012 by Brian Duggan in Reno Gazette-Journal
Advocates of small-scale wind energy production say stories like the Sousas' experience at their high-desert home highlight the challenge early adopters face when investing in a nascent industry.
That includes sorting through unsubstantiated claims made by some manufacturers of wind turbines meant for backyards or city parks as well as maintaining a realistic set of expectations for the technology.
Also filed under [
Technology]
The politics of renewable energy headed the agenda in battleground Nevada on Tuesday, as Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar opened a fifth annual green energy conference with the announcement that a 12-square-mile wind energy farm in rural White Pine County will begin producing electricity.
$1.3 billion in ‘clean energy' subsidies produce 288 permanent jobs, quadruple cost of electricity in Nevada
August 6, 2012 by Kyle Gillis in Nevada Journal
August 6, 2012 by Kyle Gillis in Nevada Journal
Nevada's renewable energy sector shows that over $1.3 billion in federal funds funneled into geothermal, solar and wind projects since 2009 has yielded and is projected to yield just 288 permanent, full-time jobs.
That's an initial cost of over $4.6 million per job.
Also filed under [
General]
Programs to support wind-energy projects for Nevadans have been a financial flop so far, according to the state Bureau of Consumer Protection.
But NV Energy of Las Vegas and Sierra Pacific Power of Reno say changes are being made, and the program should continue.
Also filed under [
Tax Breaks & Subsidies]
Canadian firm will receive up to 50 million stimulus dollars for Nevada solar plant that employs two people
May 10, 2012 by Kyle Gillis in Nevada Journal
May 10, 2012 by Kyle Gillis in Nevada Journal
According to a Department of Interior memo, Enbridge Energy Partners, a Canadian-based company with extensive energy holdings in the U.S. that purchased the Southern Nevada plant from Arizona-based First Solar, "can apply for payments of up to 30 percent of the eligible costs of the project - approximately $50 million."
Also filed under [
General]
Work is under way on state's first wind energy farm
April 22, 2012 by Associated Press in Daily Sparks Tribune
April 22, 2012 by Associated Press in Daily Sparks Tribune
The 7,500-acre Spring Valley Wind farm in White Pine County, just west of Great Basin National Park, is set to start providing power to northern Nevada this July, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
NV Energy windmill program generates rebates, little electricity
March 29, 2012 by Anjeanette Damon in Las Vegas Sun
March 29, 2012 by Anjeanette Damon in Las Vegas Sun
A year ago, a Reno clean energy businessman warned the Public Utilities Commission that if it didn't set a few standards for NV Energy's wind rebate program, its customers could end up footing the bill for turbines that rarely produce electricity.
Also filed under [
General]
USFS studies proposed NV wind farm harm to eagles
January 15, 2012 by Associated Press in San Jose Mercury News
January 15, 2012 by Associated Press in San Jose Mercury News
Midway through a two-year study about the potential impacts of a proposed wind farm on golden eagles in northern Nevada, wildlife biologists say they've identified nearly a dozen nesting sites in the area of the $200 million project in the mountains 20 miles northeast of Sparks.
Also filed under [
General]
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