Onshore

Why is this Idaho wind farm receiving so much opposition?

Why is this Idaho wind farm receiving so much opposition?
(Photo by ZHANG FENGSHENG on Unsplash)

A controversial wind farm planned for Idaho is facing another obstacle after Republican Idaho senator Jim Risch introduced legislation to delay the project.

This bill would prevent the Secretary of the Interior from authorizing the Lava Ridge Wind Energy Project until a U.S. Government Accountability Office study is conducted to analyze the project’s impact to the Minidoka National Historic Site, a relocation site where more than 13,000 Japanese-Americans were incarcerated during World War Two. The project’s opponents claim that the wind farm will “visually compromise” the historic site.

Lava Ridge Wind is a project with up to 1000 MW capacity located in south-central Idaho, northeast of Twin Falls. After the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued a final environmental impact statement (EIS) on the project, numerous Idaho legislators vowed to continue to fight against what would be the largest wind generation project in the state – calling the latest plans for the site “a slap in the face of Idahoans” that will ultimately benefit California rather than the Gem State.

“The Lava Ridge Wind Energy Project is opposed by virtually all Idahoans and especially the Japanese American community. The Interior Department cannot continue to push through a project without considering the impact to the Minidoka National Historic Site, where Japanese Americans from across the West were incarcerated during World War II,” said Risch. “My bill ensures this project does not proceed until the real impacts to Minidoka and our cultural and natural resources are considered.”

The proposed location of Lava Ridge Wind (courtesy: BLM)

Earlier this year, Senator Risch led the Idaho delegation in introducing the Don’t DO IT Act, which would require the Secretary of the Interior to deny any wind or solar energy project proposed on public land that is disapproved of by the State legislature. Idaho’s State legislature unanimously passed a resolution in March 2023 expressing opposition to the Lava Ridge Wind Energy Project.

According to BLM, the EIS was the culmination of more than 30 months of public outreach that included more than 1,400 scoping comments and 11,000 public comments. The statement provides an analysis of the proposed action, four additional action alternatives, and a “No Action Alternative.”

The preferred alternative proposed by BLM reduces the Lava Ridge project’s footprint by nearly 50%, from 8,395 acres to 4,492 acres. It also decreases the number of turbines from 400 to 241, removes them from the most sensitive locations, and reduces the maximum height of the turbines from 740 feet to 660 feet.

The simulation rendering of the original (top) and preferred alternative (bottom) plans for Lava Ridge Wind in Idaho (courtesy: BLM)

“The preferred alternative adjusts the corridor configuration such that the closest turbine to the Minidoka National Historic Site would be nine miles away, helping to preserve the visitor experience of the remote nature of the former incarceration site for Japanese Americans during WWII,” reads part of BLM’s statement. “The preferred alternative also reduces potential impacts to sage grouse, large wildlife migration routes and winter concentration areas, cultural resources, Jerome County Airport and agricultural aviation uses, public land ranchers, and adjacent private landowners.”

Risch was among the first to condemn BLM’s decision.

“Idahoans could not be more clear that they do not support Lava Ridge. Yet, for some reason, the BLM continues to push forward this project that no one in Idaho wants,” said Risch. “This is not over I will continue to fight this unnecessary and ill-begotten project.”