Why Green Power?

1. The Environmental Benefits include minimal, if any, byproducts of CO2 and other pollutants such as carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and lead in comparison to those produced in the creation of energy through fossil fuels.
2. Stimulating Our Hobbled Economy. In 1997, importing fossil fuels sent $65 billion dollars outside of our country. Renewable energy resources are developed at home. Furthering their development will keep billions of dollars here, creating more jobs for Americans.
3. Our Children's Future depends on the technological advancements of these energy sources. Two things we know for certain are that oil won't last forever and the sun will.
4. Our National Security is strengthened as our dependency for foreign oil is decreased. By moving toward renewable energies, we naturally shift toward freedom from unstable ground.

*reprinted from Campaign Earth

News

Proposed 200-foot windmill at olive ranch upsets neighbors

by Jim Welte, Marin Independent Journal, August 26, 2005

Sumner Schlesinger insists this is not a typical case of NIMBYism.

The tall, mustached Schlesinger said his vocal opposition to a proposed wind energy system at the McEvoy Olive Ranch, in the rolling hills between Nicasio and Petaluma, is more than not-in-my-backyard resistance.

The project, on the olive ranch owned by Nan Tucker McEvoy, 85, granddaughter of the founder of the San Francisco Chronicle, was approved yesterday by county hearing officer Ben Berto. But opponents said they will appeal it to the Planning Commission early next month.

"For us, this windmill would quite literally almost be in our backyard," Schlesinger said. "And from a distance, it will make our house look like it has a huge beanie on top of it."

 The proposed 660-kilowatt windmill, which would produce more than enough energy to power the entire ranch, would actually be 1,300 feet from the Schlesinger home. But standing at least 210 feet tall, the imposing structure will impact everyone in sight, several neighbors and project opponents said yesterday at a public hearing.

 The project highlights an ongoing debate in the environmental community, whose members both support alternative energy sources to fossil fuels but worry about windmills' impacts on bird populations and the pastoral landscapes where they're most effective.

 If approved, the McEvoy project would double the number of wind energy systems in the county.

 Devils Gulch Ranch owner Mark Pasternak received approval for a 50-kilowatt, 80-foot-tall wind turbine two years ago but has yet to get his project up and running. He said he has three minor hurdles to cross with the county and Pacific Gas & Electric Co. before he can plug in his system at his Nicasio ranch.

 In many ways, Pasternak served as a guinea pig for the McEvoy project, although his windmill is considerably smaller.

 "The bureaucratic wheels have turned very slowly for us because the county had never done a project like this before," Pasternak said. "For every single issue that came up, instead of being able to resolve it based on historical precedent, they had to write it for the first time."

 Despite the size disparity between the two projects, Pasternak's project had its share of opponents as well. He had a blunt response to the objections he faced about its visibility and suggestions to move it out of public view.

"Putting a windmill in the valley is like putting a solar system in the shade - it doesn't make sense," he said.

Tom Williard, whose Inverness-based Sustainergy Systems is overseeing the McEvoy project, told project opponents something similar yesterday.

 "They're going to hear it and they're going to see it and that's the way windmills are," he said.

 Williard defended the project's size, saying it is the smallest available windmill for commercial use. Using smaller wind turbines would force the ranch to use as many as six of them, which would create even more noise and visual disturbances, he said.

 Some opponents suggested that McEvoy's project would set a precedent and could open the doors to a spate of similar projects, transforming West Marin into the hills around the Altamont Pass in the East Bay, home to one of the largest wind farms in the United States.

 Williard rejected those suggestions.

 "This is not a stepping stone to a larger wind farm in Marin County," he said. "Quite frankly, there just isn't enough wind in Marin to allow that to happen."

Other opposition centered on the windmill's impact on bird populations in the area. Bird lovers often cite bird mortality rates at the huge, 5,400-windmill wind energy farm at the Altamont Pass.

 

An estimated 1,700 to 4,700 birds are killed each year in that area, according to a study released last year by the California Energy Commission. But with only one windmill, and one that does not feature the wires birds often run into at Altamont, the McEvoy project would have a dramatically smaller impact, Williard said.

 

Barbara Salzman, president of the Marin Audubon Society, asked Berto to slow the approval process for more study on bird migratory patterns in the area around the ranch.

 

Clint Wilder of the Sierra Club suggested McEvoy do a migratory bird study prior to installing the windmill and then a subsequent study on how many birds had been killed by the system. Williard said the applicants were willing to do such studies, and that they had already agreed to work with the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory to monitor bird impact.

 In issuing his decision to approve the project with slight modifications, Berto noted the county's underlying support for sustainable energy projects.

 "That's a fairly strong statement of policy," he said.

 Berto suggested moving the wind tower downhill 10 meters, closer to the Schlesinger house but farther out of view and behind a grove of oak trees, when viewed from Red Hill Road. The move would also reduce the windmill's impact on birds, which tend to congregate around ridge lines, Berto said.

 Even if the commission eventually approves the McEvoy project, Williard and company could face another hurdle. Vestas, the wind turbine manufacturer, recently informed them that it might not be able to get a 131-foot tower, and might be forced to use an even taller 164-foot tower.

 "I can't decide on a 50-meter tower," Berto said. "If it would go any taller, it would have to come back for further public review."

 Williard said they were still trying to secure the 131-foot tower.

 Despite yesterday's setback, project opponents vowed to fight on.

 Ranch neighbor Laure Reichek hailed McEvoy for pursuing wind energy but cautioned her to find a balance between addressing dependence on foreign oil and creating local nuisances.

 "You cannot try to solve a global problem by creating other local problems," she said.

For more information, you may also call 415.497.6242 or send email to: david@sustainergysystems.com