EnXco, one of two unscrupulous commercial wind power developers who are attempting to despoil the west end of the Kittitas Valley, is back in the county. They recently placed a full-page ad in the 4th of July Daily Record supplement implying they were a member of the community and positioning themselves as "one of America's premier wind energy companies."

They are deceptive on both counts. They are not an American company, but owned by EdF Energies Nouvelles - a member of the EdF (Électricité de France) Group. And if "premier wind energy company" means a company that owns and operates assets in the Altamont Pass - the poster child of where not to build wind farms if you wish to avoid killing raptors - then I guess they are "premier."

To set the record straight, a member of the community does not circumvent local land-use authority for the permitting of wind energy projects by asking unelected state EFSEC bureaucrats to pre-empt our elected commissioners' decision to reject their project as originally designed. A member of the community does not knowingly impact his neighbors under the guise of "helping" the larger community when in fact the real purpose is to further their own profits.

As for I-937, let's once and for all accept that Kittitas County did not pass I-937. In fact, only 1 out of 20 counties west of the Cascade Mountains passed the initiative - Klickitat County. To imply that the Desert Claim project will help meet the I-937 mandates placed on our utilities is yet another deception. There was no provision in the initiative that states power generated in Washington by renewable energy sources must be consumed in Washington. If their project is permitted, the buyer for the energy will be the utility who is the highest bidder - most likely a California utility.

So EnXco, if you truly do wish to become a member of the Kittitas County community, I suggest you first apply for permission to build your re-designed project with the county.