Steens Mountain stretches through the open lands of southeastern Oregon's Harney County for more than 30 miles, a twisting spine of rock and brush punctuated by steep gorges and rushing streams. Remote and rugged, it has come to symbolize the state's wild, austere side. It's also becoming a battleground for a wind power developer that sees gold in the Steens' stiff breezes -- and red in the eyes of environmentalists. At issue are about 200 wind turbines that Columbia Energy Partners wants to build along the northern boundary of the Steens Mountain Wilderness. ...The conflicts come into sharp relief in a state that prizes its green credentials and its pristine lands.

Chris Crowley, head of Columbia Energy Partners, filed separate applications for the three wind projects he called the Echanis, East Ridge and West Ridge wind farms. They lie next to each other ...Each would generate a maximum of 104 megawatts. Any project with a capacity of 105 megawatts or more triggers review by the state. The county reviews smaller ones. "These are blatant attempts to circumvent the public process," said Dave Becker, an attorney with the Oregon Natural Desert Association. The state's Energy Facility Siting Council should review the projects, he said.

Baker City Manager Steve Brocato doesn't want Baker City to "start looking like Boardman." He's afraid a proposed Idaho Power transmission line that will pass through Baker County - and perhaps skirt the east side of Baker City - might do just that. Brocato told city councilors Tuesday the proposed power line "will detract from the beauty of this area" and believes its presence will spawn more wind farms, which he said are "detrimental to the beauty of the community and don't contribute to economic development." ..."If the county grants a wind farm, it should be somewhere where we can't see them and I would like the caveat that it has to be built by a local industry."

The Umatilla County Planning Commission has approved the Echo-area project. Commissioners voted unanimously to approve a land-use permit for the wind farm's transmission line along Highway 207. The line will carry the project's electricity to a PacifiCorp substation at Hinkle. For the project's investors, the land-use permit was the final step before going to work. ...

The Umatilla County Planning Commission gave the green light to an Oregon wind farm project in Echo Thursday night. The commissioners voted unanimously to approve a land-use permit for the wind farm's transmission line along Highway 207. The line will carry the project's electricity to a PacifiCorp substation at Hinkle. ...Commissioner Tammie Williams said she sympathized with those who live near the line, but Umatilla County needed the money the wind farm would bring. "It would be a disadvantage to this community not to have that money generated," she said.

Matt Thomas is a car dealer who co-owns several Thomas Sales & Service dealerships in Central Oregon. He's also a wind-power advocate, with hopes of erecting four small windmills on the 320 acres he owns between Bend and Tumalo where he plans to build a home. He's prepared a site and purchased his first turbine. But due to Deschutes County code, his turbine plans are coming up short. ...The minimum height Thomas' turbine can operate at and still generate electricity (wind speed increases farther from the ground) is 33 feet. That's 3 feet over the county's height restriction for structures ...Wind farms, with their giant turbines, are the most visible signs of the growth of wind power, but the fastest-growing sector in wind power is the much smaller, residential-scale market, Stimmel said. Residential-scale windmills produce 2 to 10 kilowatts of energy.

Plans for a controversial wind farm on the hills above Mosier may be faltering. Almost a year has passed since developer UPC Wind first asked state regulators to review the 40-turbine project, which lies within the windy stretches of the Columbia River Gorge. Revisions to the proposal, promised more than six months ago, have yet to materialize. The delays underscore the difficulties UPC Wind faces as it tries to rearrange the turbines so that they're less visible from a federally protected scenic area, but still in breezy enough spots to produce a moneymaking venture. The Massachusetts-based company also is struggling to appease an outpouring of anger from residents near the proposed site, on Sevenmile Hill. So far, opposition remains organized and strong.

Almost a year has passed since developer UPC Wind first asked state regulators to review the 40-turbine project, which lies within the windy stretches of the Columbia River Gorge. Revisions to the proposal, promised more than six months ago, have yet to materialize. The delays underscore the difficulties UPC Wind faces as it tries to re-arrange the turbines so that they're less visible from a federally protected scenic area, but still in breezy enough spots to produce a money-making venture. The Massachusetts-based company also is struggling to appease an outpouring of anger from residents near the proposed site, on Sevenmile Hill. So far, opposition remains organized and strong. "When virtually everyone for miles around says this is a terrible location for a wind farm, you'd think they'd take the hint," said Jim Yuhas, a nearby homeowner.

Residents of Sevenmile Hill have claimed what they call "a major victory" in their bid to oppose construction of a six-mile-long chain of 390-foot wind turbines on the hills above Mosier. Members of the Families for Sevenmile Hill circulated a memo this week from Adam Bless of the Oregon Department of Energy, outlining the results of a Feb. 28 meeting between Oregon Department of Energy and two representatives from UPC. According to Bless: • UPC is considering changes to the project layout. These changes could involve moving some of the turbines from their originally proposed locations, and adding some turbines at new locations instead. • UPC's reason for moving some of the turbine locations is to try and address the public comments.

The city of Portland could become part owner of a wind farm east of The Dalles if a deal now in the works with Sherman County and the farmers who live there takes hold. Portland officials are pursuing the idea as a means of offsetting the city government's own energy consumption, which is about 50 megawatts a year. ...Commissioner Dan Saltzman, whose office is leading the negotiations, said while green power generally costs more, the plan ideally would enable the city to meet its renewable energy goal without increasing its energy bill. He expects the investment to pay for itself in about 10 years and that the city ultimately could draw revenue from the project.

Now a Massachusetts company wants to catch the wind that whips across the ridge between Mosier and The Dalles. The Cascade Wind Project proposed by UPC Wind Partners is the first to reach into a rural Oregon community. Predictably, the 389-foot towers have riled the locals. Yet the clash goes deeper than a spat between neighbors and a developer. The northern cluster of Cascade Wind's turbines would brush the boundary of the federally protected Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. That sets up a conflict between Northwest values, pitting a revved-up desire to advance clean, renewable energy against the long-held belief that rural and scenic areas deserve special care.

Residents of Sevenmile Hill got a chance to tell their story directly to members of the Energy Facilities Siting Council of the Oregon Department of Energy Thursday night, and they made the most of it. Of the 35 people who spoke about UPCs proposed Cascade Wind project, 31 expressed their disapproval in various shades of firmness.

Pacific Power has asked regulators in Wyoming for approval to install 66 wind turbines capable of generating 99 megawatts of electricity at a former coal mine. The Glenrock Wind Energy Project would be constructed at Pacific Power's former Dave Johnston Coal Mine, a surface coal mine that operated for 40 years until it shut down in 2000. The nine-mile site has since been restored to its original appearance.

An application to site a 40-tower, 60-megawatt wind farm on Sevenmile Hill, west of The Dalles, was deemed incomplete last week by the Oregon Department of Energy (ODE) and returned to its authors with a request for supplemental information in key areas of concern. In a letter mailed June 7, ODE informed UPC Wind Development, LLC, the company behind the proposed Cascade Wind Project, that it had until June 20 to submit a date by which a complete application would be submitted. According to ODE's Adam Bless, "no one has ever submitted a complete application on the first try," so this wrinkle doesn't come as a great shock to those close to the process.

A group of residents in The Dalles area has come out against a proposed wind farm along the nearby ridges of the Columbia River Gorge. Wind farms are popping up throughout the Gorge, but this is the first time any notable opposition has arisen in Oregon.

The Oregon Department of Energy has issued a public notice of a proposed order for Biglow Canyon Wind Farm. The ODE is recommending a change be made to Condition 9, which deals with site restoration if the facility ceases to operate in the future. Although Biglow Canyon Wind Farm is obligated to restore the site, Condition 9 ensures that funds are available to the state to restore it.

Neighbors weren't shy Wednesday night about their feelings on the proposed Cascade Wind Project on Sevenmile Hill; they don't want it and they want to know how to keep it out. Close to 100 people crowded into the Fireside Room at The Dalles Civic Auditorium, where fewer than half that number had been expected. The dominant, and vocal, viewpoint expressed was opposition.

A public meeting is planned Wednesday, May 2, at 7 p.m. at The Dalles Civic Auditorium to discuss the Cascade Wind Project proposed on Sevenmile Hill by UPC Wind Development LLC. The Oregon Department of Energy is holding this public information meeting to help people understand the process, to answer questions, and to hear comments. The applicant's representatives will be there as well.

Despite their concerns about impacts specific to the Sevenmile site, the second part of the Casdays' presentation showed that their opposition to wind power has evolved beyond the "not-in-my-back-yard" phenomenon. "We started out as NIMBYs," Gary Casady admitted to the court, employing a term that is used pejoratively to refer to those who oppose development only when it happens near their property. However, Casady said, after reading thousands of documents and doing extensive research on the internet, the pair has come to the conclusion that many of the positive claims made by the wind power industry need to be questioned.