Tehachapi News

Report reveals plans for more wind generators

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Plans to build new wind generators stretching nearly 500 feet tall in unincorporated Kern County near Tehachapi are in the works, according to a report released by the county.

A Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) outlines the proposed project, known as the Alta-Oak Creek Mojave Project, which would be constructed along approximately 9,300 acres near the Tehachapi-Mojave border.

The Kern Count Planning commission is holding a public hearing to receive comments on the report on Nov. 12 at 7 p.m.

The county will determine whether to approve a zone change and grant the conditional use permit for the project, using the EIR to make its decision.

A zoning change would allow Alta Wind Energy access to 2,772 acres of the 9,300-acre site, which it would use to construct up to 320 turbines, including along Tehachapi Willow Springs Road.

Graphic renderings included in the report show proposed wind turbine generators as tall as 475.7 feet from the tower base to the tip of the blades.

Military air traffic restrictions allow a maximum height of 500 feet within the proposed construction area.

According to the report, a conditional use permit is necessary to construct wind generators, auxiliary facilities, and supporting infrastructure.

The project would also require permit approval to allow “temporary concrete batch plants,” needed to provide the large amounts of building materials for the enormous generators, power substation and foundations, the report stated.

The county planning commission and board of supervisors will review and address the report, and will hear public comments, and staff response to those comments, during the public hearing process on Nov. 12.

The board of supervisors will eventually approve, conditionally approve or deny the project, according to the report.

The project would be almost entirely located on privately owned land, where 17 private owners currently reside, according to an Alta Wind Energy Center newsletter.

Alta Wind has spoken with several private owners about leasing their property for construction, said Merle Carnes, president of Old West Ranch's property owners association.

Calls to Alta Wind representatives were not immediately returned.

According to an Alta Wind summary of option agreement, landowners who agree to lease their property would be paid a three percent “Landowner Royalty percentage” over a 34-year, 10-month lease.

The amount of money a property owner can earn per year depends on the number of wind turbines - between one and three - on his or her property.

For one turbine, a landowner can make $19,342 annually. For two, he or she can earn $44,487 per year. With three, $58,026 can be earned per year.

Project objectives

The project has 14 objectives, according to the report, including reaching the “potential of the wind resource on the lands within the Tehachapi Wind Resource Area,” offsetting the need for electricity generated from fossil fuels, and assisting the state in “meeting its air quality goals.”

The project is intended to reduce greenhouse gasses, as mandated by California Assembly Bill 32, also known as the Global Warming Solutions Act.

According to the report, the project seeks to optimize the usage of “underutilized, undeveloped land” with “little potential to be developed for other uses,” and providing revenue to the landowners while allowing them to keep much of their current land.

The EIR also reveals four main characteristics of the project, which includes the building of no more than 320 generators at no taller than 500 feet.

Access roads, both on-site and off-site, and transmission lines will also be necessary for the project.

Up to four power substations and two operation and maintenance facilities would also be project characteristics.

Environmental impacts

The report also addresses the environmental impacts of the Alta-Oak Creek Mojave Project, including a summary of “less-than-significant” and “significant but mitigable” circumstances regarding 10 areas: aesthetics, agricultural resources, air quality, biological resources, cultural resources, geology and soils, hazards and hazardous materials, hydrology and water quality, land use and planning, population and housing, public service, transportation and traffic and utilities.

The report is available on the county's Web site, and a hard copy can be viewed at the Tehachapi Public Library.