INTERIOR APPROVES WIND ON INDIAN LAND

Ocotillo wind project advances despite tribal objections

Morgan Lee, ay 12, 2012 (San Diego Union-Tribune)

“…Interior Secretary Ken Salazar signed off on [the construction of a large-scale wind energy project across 10,000 acres of public lands on the outskirts of the desert town of Ocotillo]…Environmental Impact Statement over the objection of Native American tribal officials who remain concerned about the aesthetic impact of the project on ancestral lands and the potential for disturbing cultural and archaeological artifacts, including possible cremation sites.

“The Bureau of Land Management said it worked closely with Native American tribes and neighboring residents to minimize impacts of the project…[which] would form a crescent shape around Ocotillo in Imperial County, providing electricity to customers of San Diego Gas & Electric in San Diego and southern Orange counties. The power plant was designed to generate enough electricity to supply about 95,000 homes…[and] will tie into a major transmission project, the Sunrise Powerlink, that is slated for completion as soon as June.”

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“…Pattern Energy…is developing the project under a 20-year power purchase agreement with SDG&E. Terms of the agreement will not be public for several years under regulations intended to encourage a competitive bulk power market…The energy pact should count toward aggressive state requirements…[for investor-owned utilities] and other retailers [to] procure 33 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2020.

“Native American tribal officials remain concerned about artifacts as well as the basic visual intrusion on a landscape tied to the creation stories of several nearby tribes…BLM officials say nearly nearly 2,300 acres were excluded from the project because of concerns about cultural resources. Thenumber of turbines was reduced from 155 to 112 to avoid blocking views that are important to the tribes. The agency conducted four site visits and dozens of consultation meetings with representatives of 10 tribes…”

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