The Associated Press
TWIN FALLS, Idaho The federal Bureau of Land Management’s preferred alternative for a proposed large-scale wind farm in southern Idaho would be slightly larger than half the size pitched by its developer and be located farther from a national historic site.
The proposed Lava Ridge project has drawn opposition from government leaders, local ranchers, and people who have said, among other things, that it would endanger the Minidoka National Historic Site, where Japanese Americans were detained during World War II.
The agency detailed its preferred alternative to the original plan in its final environmental review released earlier this month. It would decrease the number of wind turbines to 241 from 400 and cap the maximum height of the electricity-generating turbines at 660 feet, KTVB-TV reported .
The plan also places the closest turbine to the historic site 9 miles away. Adjusting the corridor configuration aims to help “preserve the visitor experience of the remote nature of the former incarceration site,” BLM stated.
As proposed in 2020, the development would have been built within about 2 miles of the visitor center for the historic site. Friends of the Minidoka, a nonprofit, is one group that has been concerned the project could destroy the visitor experience it wants to preserve at the site.
Robyn Achilles, the organization’s executive director, stated that most of the detailed historical research provided by the group to the Biden administration to enable it to better protect the historic site was disregarded in this decision.
The Biden administration “needs to do a better job and make a real commitment to protect Minidoka and our heritage, or we will be dealing with Lava Ridge and other projects forever,” Achilles stated.
U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson and U.S. Sen. Jim Risch, both Idaho Republicans, expressed their continued opposition to the project in social media posts. Risch said he would continue to fight what he called an “unnecessary and ill-begotten project.”
The Biden administration has prioritized permitting renewable energy projects on public lands by 2025 as part of the nation’s response to climate change. Magic Valley Energy, a subsidiary of New York-based LS Power, proposed the Lava Ridge energy project and has said it would increase economic activity in the area in part by creating jobs and increasing local government tax revenues.
Luke Papez, senior director of project development for LS Power, stated that BLM’s new preferred alternative appears to strike an appropriate balance between the protection of environmental resources and the need for additional domestic energy production.
The Bureau of Land Management released its draft environmental impact statement in early 2023 with two preferred alternatives. A 90-day comment period then generated more than 11,000 public comments and 1,400 scoping comments, officials said.
The final environmental review’s preferred alternative decreases the “area disturbed” by nearly 50 percent, from 8,395 acres to 4,492 acres.
“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,” BLM’s news release stated .
If the new preferred alternative is selected, BLM estimates the project’s construction to generate $21.9 million in tax revenue annually and contribute $138.9 million in total economic output.
The BLM said the preferred alternative was created through engagement with landowners, ranchers, Tribal Nations, federal and state and county elected leaders, organizations, the BLM’s Resource Advisory Council for the area and the National Park Service.
Without any changes, the Bureau of Land Management’s preferred alternative would be finalized in July.
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