Wind project in San Diego’s backcountry runs into turbulence

The Boulder Brush Project, paired with turbines at the Campo Indian Reservation, hits legal hurdles.

The fate of a proposed wind energy project that would install 60 turbines hundreds of feet high in rural East County is up in the air, after a California court granted an appeal to a local group opposed to its construction.

Ranchers Donna and Joe Tisdale of Boulevard object to the San Diego County Board of Supervisors’ approval of the Boulder Brush Project that plans to build a high-voltage substation, a switchyard and an overhead transmission line along a 320-acre corridor on private land. If approved, the infrastructure at Boulder Brush would connect to turbines at a proposed wind project located on the Campo Indian Reservation.

The Tisdales formed a group called Backcountry Against Dumps that filed a petition in San Diego Superior Court, arguing — among other complaints — the project violated the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and various planning and zoning regulations.

The Superior Court dismissed the petition but Backcountry Against Dumps took its case to the appeals court.

On March 13, a three-justice panel at the Fourth Appellate District issued a 25-page ruling that vacated the Superior Court’s decision, saying that “equity dictates that the trial court allow the petition to proceed, to ensure” that the portion of the project that is outside of the Campo Indian Reservation “complies with California state environmental standards.”

That means the case goes back to the lower court.

Terra-Gen, a renewable energy company, wants to develop the project. When asked what the court decision means for the plans to build the wind farm, the company told the Union-Tribune in an email, “We are reviewing our legal options and have nothing further to comment on at this time.”

A spokesperson for the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, which unanimously approved the project in March 2021, said, “We can’t comment on active litigation.”

A pair of emails and a voicemail left with Marcus Cuero, chairman of the Campo Band of Diegueño Mission Indians, inquiring about the effect of the appeals court ruling did not receive a response.

Donna Tisdale was quick to react to the news, saying, “I’d like to see Terra-Gen throw in the towel.”

Tisdale has been a longstanding opponent of wind energy projects, which have led to the erection of dozens of turbines that dot the landscape in San Diego’s backcountry, particularly along gusty ridge lines that run parallel to Interstate 8 in places like the McCain Valley.

Her group’s lawsuit contends the county’s environmental review of the Boulder Brush project did not fully analyze the risks the turbines have on bats, golden eagles and other migrating birds; the project’s potential effect on groundwater in the area (the project includes water collection and septic systems); and noise complaints.

According to permitting documents, the turbines would reach 586 feet at their highest points, which is higher than San Diego’s tallest building, the 34-story One America Plaza.

“You know how people complain about jets taking off from airports?” Tisdale said. “Well, turbines in areas with strong winds kind of sound the same way, except (unlike planes) they never land. You’re constantly being bombarded ... It can cause vertigo, anxiety, sleep deprivation and all kinds of things that are not good for people or animals.”

Supporters of wind farms say they are an effective tool to not only supply energy to California’s power grid but help the state reach its clean energy goal of deriving 100 percent of its electricity from carbon-free sources by 2045.

“We can avoid (needing to add) literally tens of gigawatts of capacity if we have wind in the mix,” said Nancy Rader, executive director of the California Wind Energy Association. “It’s really important that we develop every good, remaining wind resource in the state to meet the state’s goals.”

Speaking before the Board of Supervisors in 2021, Terra-Gen’s vice president of wind development said that Boulder Brush, in conjunction with the Campo Wind Project, is “likely one of the single most impactful decisions within the county to fight climate change and mitigate its impact on some of our most vulnerable communities,” as reported at the time by media outlet inewsource.

If completed, the Campo Wind Project would generate 252 megawatts of electricity, enough to power about 70,000 homes. The turbines are estimated to displace about 58,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year — equivalent to the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by nearly 14,000 gasoline-powered cars in one year.

The Boulder Brush and Campo Wind projects would connect to San Diego Gas & Electric’s existing transmission lines via the Sunrise Powerlink.

Terra-Gen, based in New York City but with an office in San Diego, operates 23 wind energy facilities across the country.

The company has wrangled with Backcountry Against Dumps before.

Tisdale’s group filed a petition nearly four years ago, complaining the height of the Campo wind turbines pose a hazard to aircraft and could impair radar function in the area. The Federal Aviation Administration, however, gave the project a “no hazard” determination.

Backcountry Against Dumps appealed the FAA’s decision and last August, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in a 29-page opinion remanded the decision back to the FAA and instructed the agency to hear the arguments the group made in its petition.

In a separate wind energy project, Terra-Gen in June 2023 contacted the Board of Supervisors and withdrew its application to construct the Torrey Wind Project, a 126-megawatt facility in Boulevard that would consist of 30 turbines.

“They can always reapply,” Tisdale said. “It’s never over.”