12/14/2009 6:00:00 AM
White Hills wind farm explained
$1 billion project still years from operation
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KINGMAN - BP Wind Energy held three public meetings last week with the Bureau of Land Management to inform the public about its plans for a 500-megawatt wind farm near White Hills.
White Hills is located about 40 miles north of Kingman on U.S. 93. The farm would have up to 335 wind turbines generating between 1.5 and 3 megawatts of power each, depending on the wind speed, said BP Wind Energy Business Development Director Daniel Runyan. Each turbine can detect and turn itself into the wind.
The turbines start generating electricity at about 12 mph. They reach peak efficiency at around 22 to 30 mph. Past that point, the turbine blades start to feather in order to bleed off some of the wind energy and prevent damage to the turbine, he said. The turbines shut down completely when winds reach more than 50 mph.
Each turbine would stand 263 feet tall from the ground to the rotor hub, with the rotors adding another 157 feet. The rotors sweep a 300-foot diameter and make 18 revolutions per minute, Runyan said.
The project would be built in phases, with the first phase of 235 turbines built in one year. It would cost around $1 billion and generate approximately 100 to 400 construction jobs and 10 to 30 permanent jobs at the site. The average salary for a permanent job would be about $50,000, Runyan said. It would last about 30 years before being decommissioned.
Because a large portion of the project will be built on approximately 44,860 acres of BLM land, an environmental impact study will have to be completed before the project can be built. Last week's three public meetings are part of that 18- to 24-month study process, which includes collecting public comments and concerns on the project.
According to Runyan, the company and BLM have been collecting wind and other environmental data in the area for the past four years.
Runyan described how the turbines would be shipped into the county and then assembled at the site. One of the challenges the company faces is finding roads and bridges strong enough to carry the weight of some of the parts as they are delivered to the job site, he said.
The company has eight similar wind farms scattered throughout the country.
When asked what affect the wind farm would have on local property values, Runyan said he couldn't say. There are studies available that say wind farms have a negative effect, while others say they have no effect.
He also agreed that there would be some noise while the turbines were operating, and the turbines could kill some birds and bats, but they would likely have no effect on large game animals, such as deer. BP and BLM are still working on wildlife studies.
BP does maintain setbacks from the edge of the wind farm property in order to minimize the effect on property values and noise on neighbors, he said.
Runyan did not know if the energy produced by the wind farm would be used in Mohave County or Arizona.
BLM will accept comments on the project throughout the EIS process but is asking residents with concerns to get them in as early as possible so that they can act on the suggestions. For more information on the project, visit www.blm.gov/az/st/en.html or call Jerry Crockford at (505) 360-0473.
Comments can be e-mailed to KFO_WindEnergy@blm.gov or mailed to the BLM Kingman Field Office, Joyce Cook, Realty Specialist, 2755 Mission Blvd., Kingman AZ 86401.
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Posted: Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Article comment by:
Denise Bensusan
GO WIND!
Wind leaves a much smaller footprint on the environment than any other form of energy production.
I do hope they keep working to prevent as many bird deaths as poassable. I read a really good artile at
http://www.awea.org/faq/sagrillo/swbirds.html
It has a different prospective on wind farms and bird deaths.
Denise Bensusan
denisebensusan@ hughes.net
Posted: Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Article comment by:
No name provided
Why not, wind power??? There is plenty of it there. We need to think of future generations and create sustainable energy sources. It isn't always about money that can and can't be made, or spent. They are all over the place where we live and they give me hope that there is progress towards cleaner air.......
Posted: Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Article comment by:
Donna too
Okay, we are talking as totally renewable, the ONLY water saver, and ultimate "green" techno that you can get and you want to talk about birds and bats?
With the ratios that you are tentatively throwing out there to preserve them and all, I noticed that you didn't include their gestation periods or the average number of offspring in their nests, which still with all of the wind turbines and etc, support them as being pretty renewable of their own accord! (And for all of the BAT concern, I really haven't seen too many bat boxes going up.)
Can anybody trying to do the right thing ever really get it right?
Posted: Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Article comment by:
Give me a break
Benefits of this project.
Tax dollars, wait no we pay them to build it and takes 30 years to re-cope. Jobs, oh wait its 35 minutes from Las Vegas so all will live out of state. Sale of land to raise money, wait we are donating the land. Infrastructure, wait ugly high tension lines and miles of roads built on blm land. Power our homes, wait it goes to the highest bidder Las Vegas, La. Cheap power, wait we have to pay a premium for all renewable power under law and have to buy a percentage of said power no matter what witch means all our power bills will go up since its available we have to buy a percentage.
Boy this whole thing sounds familiar. Does anyone remember Griffith energy scandal and the millions the area lost from that good ole boy project? This whole project is another green wash method to milk the tax payer and every electric customer out here.
This would be a different story IF they purchased the land, Built with their own money, Did not lie and say it will help the local community, or lie and say they have no impact.
Drive through Cajon pass and see the so called Beautiful turbines spinning. Talk to the locals about the eyesore. Ask them about the noise.
Posted: Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Article comment by:
Jeff
Go for it.
Just make certain when it is "decommissioned" it is also dismantled, removed, and the site is left as nature would have it.
Posted: Monday, December 14, 2009
Article comment by:
C.C.C.
After the building process is complete on all these Electricity producing projects, jobs our OVER! Any jobs created after the labor is complete will be High Tech, most will be experience from outside the area!
DVS
This one is only good because it is not in Your Back Yard, correct?
We the community have little too nothing to say about what is allowed by this County!
If we want to protect the way ordinary people think and live we had better start getting ordinary people to run for office, then VOTE them in!
We do not have that in this area, our board rep talks a good line, and walks away!
Posted: Monday, December 14, 2009
Article comment by:
willie
This is truely a "GREEN" project. It does not use water and say it is "GREEN" like Hualapai Solar and Albiasa. It is located in a section of Mohave County that can truely need the jobs like Dolan Springs, Meadview, White Hills, Chloride,and Golden Valley. It is 40 miles from Kingman, so there are a lot of citizens that dont live in Kingman and they need a job! I am confused why is it everytime a Developer comes into Mohave County, why is it all about Kingman? What about the rest of the area's! These high paying jobs will be given to those that are qualified to run this Wind Farm, and not everyone likes to live in a "CITY", there is lots of open spaces and acreage, and yes there is still some water left in the Aquifer - our Supersizes have not given that all away yet. So I guess a reminder to those that live in Mohave County it isnt all about Kingman. Three cheers to the Wind Farm, hope that there is more of them to come here in Mohave County, after all we the citizens of Mohave County also need a job.
Posted: Monday, December 14, 2009
Article comment by:
Rick
Let me see if I've got this right. BLM(tax payers) own the land. BLM(tax payers) is project lead. BLM(tax payers) approves the project. BLM(tax payers) turns the running and profits over to BP. BLM nor BP needs to work through County/State Governments? Not only is there a conflict of interest within BLM, but approve or non is not within our perview. And, BP is in our backyard with no discernible benefit to the County??
Posted: Monday, December 14, 2009
Article comment by:
Proud and not liberal
I live close to several thousand wind turbines in texas, and I have yet to see any dead birds or bats near one. Try some other scare tactic for a while.
Posted: Monday, December 14, 2009
Article comment by:
No name provided
IT IS ABSOLUTELY NOT CORRECT THAT THE POWER IS USED BY THE CLOSEST USER. IT GOES TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER, MOST OF THIS ELECTRICITY WILL GO TO LV AND LA
Posted: Monday, December 14, 2009
Article comment by:
Wind and Solar
Glad to see this proposal and sure hope the environmental impact study doesn't turn up some endagered toad or bug and put a stop to it.
Arizona, Mohave County and the Kingman area will benefit from this project not only in new jobs but in attracting like minded companies to build their projects also.
I welcome them with open arms.
Posted: Monday, December 14, 2009
Article comment by:
Donna
When power enters the grid, it is used by the closest users. However, the company that owns that power could be on the other side of the world, and they are the ones profiting from it. The real question is, "Will all these new power stations (solar and wind) lower energy costs in Mohave County?"
Most birds can learn to avoid windmills but bats don't seem to "see" them using sonar. I have always thought it would be a simple matter to put a sonar broadcasting beacon on the windmills to protect bats from them. However, no one has done anything to protect birds or bats from windmills thus far.
All power sources have their pros and cons. Personaly I prefer water (the Dam), wind and solar over coal and nuclear energy, especially in my back yard (I live in Dolan Springs). We can certainly use the jobs, too!
Posted: Monday, December 14, 2009
Article comment by:
trying to keep the glass half full
Even if they do transfer in their own people. That's ten new well paid people in the area that will probably buy houses and spend at least a portion of their 50,000 in town. So at least that's something.
Posted: Monday, December 14, 2009
Article comment by:
No name provided
Totally agree with NNP...These wind farms do not employ many people at all. And NNP is right,they will just transfer their own people....Don't mean to sound like a downer but it's the truth....
Posted: Monday, December 14, 2009
Article comment by:
Possible to keep birds out?
Renewable and non-polluting energy like wind power is important, but wind turbines do kill birds, as the BP representative mentioned. In fact in some places they kill very large numbers of birds. I've always wondered why the turbines can't be fitted with protective screens, similar to the way house fans are. Maybe there's some technological reason why it's not possible, but it's hard to imagine that it wouldn't be. Does anybody know the reason why builders of wind turbines just accept the deaths of thousands of birds and don't put up any screens?
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