County sets hearing to review ‘wind farm' plan
The Lompoc Record|Sam Womack|September 9, 2008
The final environmental impact report for a proposed "wind farm" near Lompoc that could power up to 50,000 homes was released Monday and will be subject of a public hearing Sept. 30 in Santa Maria. An application for a major conditional use permit was filed in February 2006 by Pacific Renewable Energy Generation, which proposes to build 65 wind turbines about 390 feet high on approximately 2,950 acres of coastal ridges southwest of Lompoc, according to the county staff report.
The final environmental impact report for a proposed "wind farm" near Lompoc that could power up to 50,000 homes was released Monday and will be subject of a public hearing Sept. 30 in Santa Maria. An application for a major conditional use permit was filed in February 2006 by Pacific Renewable Energy Generation, which proposes to build 65 wind turbines about 390 feet high on approximately 2,950 acres of coastal ridges southwest of Lompoc, according to the county staff report.
The final environmental impact report for a proposed "wind farm" near Lompoc that could power up to 50,000 homes was released Monday and will be subject of a public hearing Sept. 30 in Santa Maria.
An application for a major conditional use permit was filed in February 2006 by Pacific Renewable Energy Generation, which proposes to build 65 wind turbines about 390 feet high on approximately 2,950 acres of coastal ridges southwest of Lompoc, according to the county staff report.
The wind turbines would be built on rural, agriculturally zoned land and would be the first of their kind on the Central Coast, according to the final environmental impact report (EIR).
The majority of the project falls within the county's 3rd Supervisorial …
... more [truncated due to possible copyright]The final environmental impact report for a proposed "wind farm" near Lompoc that could power up to 50,000 homes was released Monday and will be subject of a public hearing Sept. 30 in Santa Maria.
An application for a major conditional use permit was filed in February 2006 by Pacific Renewable Energy Generation, which proposes to build 65 wind turbines about 390 feet high on approximately 2,950 acres of coastal ridges southwest of Lompoc, according to the county staff report.
The wind turbines would be built on rural, agriculturally zoned land and would be the first of their kind on the Central Coast, according to the final environmental impact report (EIR).
The majority of the project falls within the county's 3rd Supervisorial District, except for a small portion of a power line that would cross over into the city of Lompoc, which is in the 4th District.
The proposed project could generate a maximum capacity of 97.5 megawatts and potentially supply up to 50,000 homes with electricity, the EIR stated.
The Santa Barbara County Planning Commission is scheduled to review the EIR and hold a public hearing Sept. 30 in Santa Maria.
The final version of the document contains a revised visual resources section and a clarified biological resources section, based on public comments on a draft version of the report, according to county staff.
The power output would be sold to Pacific Gas and Electric Company and a new power line would be run from the project site to PG&E's Cabrillo substation in Lompoc.
After publishing the draft EIR, which was released for public review in July 2007, county staff received many comments, primarily on the biological and aesthetic or visual resource sections, especially regarding potential threats to birds.
The target date to begin commercial operations is the end of 2009, and the project's operational life is estimated at 30 years, according to the environmental report.
The project construction may be broken into three phases over seven years, according to county staff.
More information on the Lompoc wind energy project and the full environmental report can be found online at www.countyofsb.org/energy/projects/LompWindEnergy.asp or by contacting John Day at 568-2045.