State asks whether wind farm projects are separate
The Oregonian|Gail Kinsey Hill|August 31, 2008
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.
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.
Another conflict is stirring over the Steens Mountain projects -- one that could bring the force of the state into Harney County's wind power debate and strain relations between local planners and Oregon regulators.
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, just outside the northern boundary of the Steens Mountain Wilderness area. 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 …
... more [truncated due to possible copyright]Another conflict is stirring over the Steens Mountain projects -- one that could bring the force of the state into Harney County's wind power debate and strain relations between local planners and Oregon regulators.
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, just outside the northern boundary of the Steens Mountain Wilderness area. 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.
Crowley said "sincere and legitimate reasons" prompted the separate applications. Financing and transmission arrangements are easier to negotiate, as are power sales contracts, he said. "A local entity can make a more informed and nuanced decision."
The state isn't so sure. The Oregon Department of Energy, which serves as the siting council's staff, wrote a letter to the Harney County planning director Aug. 19. The agency said it needed additional information to "determine whether these projects are in fact fully separate projects."