Massive wind energy farm near Vandenberg clears major hurdle. When will it start operating?
The Strauss Wind Energy Project withdrew its request to operate without a required golden eagle take permit, clearing a huge hurdle for Santa Barbara County’s first commercial wind farm to begin generating electricity.
The request came after Strauss received a letter from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service that fulfills the requirement to obtain the permit from the federal agency, Santa Barbara County planning officials said.
The 27 wind turbine generators making up the Strauss Wind Energy Project and the first along the coast sit on a ridge about 4 miles southwest of Lompoc and adjacent to Vandenberg Space Force Base.
Planned for two decades, the project would generate enough electricity to power 40,000 homes. The firm has contracted with Marin Clean Energy to purchase the electricity.
One requirement of the project’s approval involved obtaining an incidental take permit for golden eagles from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. However, the firm failed to secure the permit in the years after the county’s approval of the project, with a representative blaming an oversight.
With construction done, Strauss sought to operate before having the permit, receiving permission from a divided Santa Barbara County Planning Commission in August.
Supporters of renewable energy projects urged approval of the request while those who have fought for oil drilling proposals in the county questioned allowing Strauss to bypass a key environmental condition.
An appeal of the Planning Commission’s controversial decision landed on the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors agenda on Tuesday.
The Santa Barbara County Coalition of Labor, Agriculture & Business had appealed the Planning Commission’s decision contending that the approval conflicted with the California Environmental Quality Act and the California Endangered Species Act. The appeal also alleged the commission acted based on favoritism for the applicant/operator.
Last week, Strauss asked to withdraw its request after receiving notice from Santa Barbara County Energy Division staff that a letter from federal officials satisfied the requirement for the eagle take permit.
County supervisors voted to withdraw the item from the agenda Tuesday.
Gordon MacDougall, chief executive officer for BayWa r.e. Wind LLC, expressed appreciation for staff’s patience, adding that he wanted to “just make it clear that we obviously will be meeting all of the obligations required of us.”
The wind turbine generators could undergo live commissioning as early this weekend, MacDougall said in response to a question from Fourth District Supervisor Bob Nelson.
“Once we’ve sufficiently tested and commissioned everything, we hope to be up and running during this month in full operation,” MacDougall said.
“Since you are not here in person, I will just tell you everyone’s eyes went up and you filled the room with some optimism,” chair Das Williams said.
“We were very keen to make sure that we’re delivering our wind farm which the whole county of Santa Barbara can be proud of,” MacDougall said.