As part of its review process to determine whether to approve an application to allow construction of wind turbines on 32,000 acres of public land in Nevada adjacent to the California border just west of Searchlight, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) conducted a series of scoping meetings to allow public input. At a recent meeting in Las Vegas a half dozen speakers largely expressed support for renewable energy but not on the proposed site.

Impact on Landscape Impact on People Nevada

A proposed wind project was hit with a gale of opposition Monday, as the Bureau of Land Management hosted the first of four meetings on the massive renewable energy project.

Impact on Landscape Impact on People Nevada

A federal District Court judge ruled against the development of an 87-turbine, 200-megawatt wind farm in tiny Searchlight, Nev., and the company behind the project joined with the U.S. Interior Department to file an appeal. The case, which now sits before the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, could stretch out for at least another year.

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She described the noise as "a bit like a high-pitched squeal. Sometimes it sounds like a siren, other times like a helicopter on a gusty day. You would think the sound of the trees moving in the wind would be enough to overcome the sound of this windmill - not so."

Noise Impact on People Nevada

One community is united as they fight to block what a neighbor wants to build in his backyard. It's a battle that has been going on for several months. One man wants a wind turbine, his neighbors saying, not in our neighborhood. Now other surrounding communities are joining the fight.

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Residents of the desolate Palomino Valley have attended citizen’s advisory board meetings, planning commission meetings and will soon face another round of meetings because of an appeal filed by area resident Dan Herman. Herman said he filed the appeal not in opposition to the Virginia Peak Wind Project as a whole, but in opposition to the project’s two closest turbines to residents’ homes and property. As part of the special-use permit, approved by the Washoe County Planning Commission on Feb. 4, no wind turbines can be installed within one mile of existing homes.

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Storey County residents told the Bureau of Land Management on Thursday that a proposed windmill project would ruin the tourist-based economy in Virginia City and surrounding areas. Jane Peterson, bureau energy project manager, said in a presentation to the Storey County Planning Commission that public comments collected since November have been split on whether to allow Reno-based Great Basin Wind to build about 70 windmills on BLM land in Storey and Washoe counties.

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Nevada Wind won a small battle with the Washoe County Planning Commission on Feb. 4 when the panel unanimously voted to approve a special-use permit for the project slated for development in the Palomino Valley, approximately 30 miles north of Sparks. ...Then the project hit a snag Tuesday when nearby landowner Dan Herman filed an appeal. "Well, the only thing I appealed is the one condition that allowed the two windmills on the property at the end of Quaking Aspen that directly affects the surrounding neighbors," Herman said.

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When Duke Energy went to Boulder City to pitch a wind farm outside Searchlight, the company was greeted with a virtual love-in. Not so in Searchlight, where residents seemed armed with pitchforks and torches. ..."I presented that to the town of Searchlight and I couldn't get to the car fast enough," Charlebois said.

Impact on People Impact on Landscape Nevada

A wind farm that would be Southern Nevada's first could sprout 30 miles south of Boulder City near Searchlight as soon as 2011. Some Searchlight residents, though thankful planners have already moved turbines because of their concerns, worry that the wind-powered energy plant would be ugly, noisy and deadly to wildlife. Yesterday, about 60 Searchlight and Cal-Nev-Ari residents met with planners ...

Impact on People General Impact on Landscape Nevada

How does a small rural town react when it is chosen to be the centerpiece of an industrial renewable energy project? Can a town successfully fight a large corporation backed up by the federal government when it does not want such a giant development in its backyard? We wanted to see, and since we own a parcel of land within the greater "viewshed" of the proposed wind farm, we attended the first of many public meetings hosted by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to "scope" comments from locals and others interested in Duke Energy's plans to place 161 large wind turbines.

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Alternative energy advocates and residents opposed to giant wind turbines overlooking their homes in Warm Springs Valley are expected to square off when Nevada Wind's proposed wind farm comes before the Washoe County Planning Commission on Tuesday. ...No matter what the planning commission decides, the project is expected to be appealed to the Washoe County Commission.

Impact on People Impact on Landscape Zoning/Planning Nevada

The current fiscal catastrophe in Nevada is being further damaged by the governor's office, which has given carte blanche to alternative wind energy limited liability companies to move into Nevada and game the tax credit system and then to follow tax subsidies that are solely funded by taxpayer money.

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Heidi Brautigam loves nothing better than horseback riding in Warm Springs Valley, where she has lived for 17 years. But she is worried her rides could become dangerous once big tractor rigs and construction trucks start hauling equipment and materials to build Nevada Wind's proposed wind turbine farm on the northern ridges overlooking the valley, north of Spanish Springs.

Impact on People Impact on Landscape Nevada

Residents weighed the greenness of wind power with the amount of visual pollution that the tall towering structures could bring to the popular 1860s-era tourist destination communities in the Comstock Historic District, designated a National Historic District. ...If placed on the ridge lines as the company proposes, the wind "turbines would be highly visible from Virginia City, Gold Hill and American Flat," [resident Ron] Reno said. Most of the wind turbine towers would be installed within the National Historic District and about half would in the Comstock Historic District.

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Silver City residents expressed mixed reactions after learning recently of a proposed wind turbine project for the nearby ridge lines. Residents weighed the greenness of wind power with the amount of visual pollution that the tall towering structures could bring to the popular 1860s-era tourist destination communities in the Comstock Historic District, which is also designated a National Historic District. The proposed project would also affect the views of people living in Washoe Valley. Great Basin Wind, LLC's new Comstock project was discussed during the September Silver City Town Board meeting's public comment segment.

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