The Pentagon has blocked the start of a large wind farm in an economically depressed community in Oregon because the Air Force is concerned about potential interference with a radar facility.
The Pentagon is threatening to scuttle what promises to be the world's largest wind farm, in eastern Oregon, arguing that the giant turbines could interfere with an Air Force radar system.
Caithness Energy had planned to break ground two weeks from now on the 845-megawatt, $2 billion Shepherds Flat wind farm near Arlington, Ore., an economically depressed rural community. But last month, Pentagon officials moved to deny the developer its final Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) permit.
Washington Post article by Juliet Eilperin
The project is economically important to the community, which serves as the dumping ground for Seattle's trash.
Shepherds Flat will provide 706 construction jobs, Caithness says, and millions in royalty payments for farmers and ranchers in Gilliam and Morrow counties.
The Oregonian article by Scott Learn
The specifics of this case are disturbing for a number of reasons. First, Caithness Energy notified the Pentagon three years ago at the start of the permitting process, but the Pentagon did nothing until the permitting process was nearly complete and ground was scheduled to be broken. In short, the Pentagon acted in bad faith, although the Department of Defense (DoD) pleads incompetence. Dorothy Robyn, deputy undersecretary of defense for installations and environment, described the approval process as "flawed." "It is by definition an 11th-hour process," she said, "and that is not satisfactory." Does the Air Force have an objective reason for their concerns? Not really. It was only when the Air Force instructed the FAA to delay the last permit necessary to start the project did they instruct Lincoln Laboratory to formally evaluate potential interference issues with the turbines.
Caithness Energy has already signed the contract with GE to build the turbines and the fabrication process is underway. Because the incentives for clean energy in the Energy Act of 2006 are temporary (in contrast to the permanent subsidies for fossil fuels build into the tax code), the company stands to lose the incentives if the project is delayed for any significant period. The company tried without success for a month after receiving the notice of the delay to get the DoD and the FAA to specify conflicts and resolutions. The delay threatens to jeopardize financing for the project while the technical fixes for any conflicts, if they even exist, are simple.
Potential options including upgrading or replacing the Fossil station, adding radar that is less sensitive to the turbines and adding "gap-filler" radar to offset problems caused by the turbines.
The Oregonian article by Scot Learn
Thanks to incompetence at the DoD, everything is in limbo.
As a result of the FAA's permit refusal, work has halted on the nine-year venture. The Energy Department has stopped working on the project's loan-guarantee application; it remains unclear whether General Electric will finish manufacturing the turbines, which represented the company's largest renewable-energy contract of 2009.
Washington Post article by Juliet Eilperin
But the larger story is that Pentagon is obstructing wind farm development at this site and others.
The Pentagon's objections could put at risk three other major wind projects in the same region, along with proposed farms in states from Illinois to Texas. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said the dispute "is not about one project. It's about the future of renewable, domestic, clean power."
Washington Post article by Juliet Eilperin
It bogles the mind. The Senators from Oregon have put holds on several DoD appointments to pressure the Obama administration to intervene and keep this large wind farm and two others in the state on track. It comes at a time when America needs clean energy and jobs. And the obstacle is coming from the most extravagantly-funded agency in America. Ridiculous.
Last month, Gen. Gene Renuart, soon-to-depart commander of Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command, told the House Armed Services Committee that wind farms pose problems for the radar that keeps America safe from air and space threats.
"Comprehensive air domain awareness will not be attained unless we can resolve the growing issue of radar interference," Renuart said in prepared testimony. "A formal vetting process is required with the necessary authorities to prevent projects from interfering with the defense of North America, while supporting the expansion of alternative energy sources, such as wind farms."
Colorado Springs Independent article by Pam Zubeck
If wind turbines 50 miles away can disrupt "radar that keeps America safe from air and space threats", then the radar system is a joke or the Pentagon is angling for more money and holding clean energy projects hostage to get what it wants. The radar system at the Fossil, Oregon site was built in the 1950s. It is extremely difficult to believe that a radar site more than 50 years old is critical to keep America safe. The Pentagon is blowing hot air at America's expense.
Update: Here is a link to testimony given by Gen. Renuart's testimony before the House Armed Services Committee on March 18, 2010. The relevant section pertaining to wind energy:
Radar Interference. Comprehensive Air Domain Awareness will not be attained unless we can resolve the growing issue of radar interference. As such, NORAD and USNORTHCOM support the establishment of an interagency process to allow the accurate assessment of existing and future plans for obstructions that potentially disrupt various radars within our area of operations. A formal vetting process is required with the necessary authorities to prevent projects from interfering with the defense of North America, while supporting the expansion of alternative energy sources, such as wind farms. To that end, NORAD has taken the initiative to form a radar obstruction evaluation team to quantify the impacts of proposed wind energy projects in close proximity to our radars.
The scope of the interference from the Air Force on wind energy projects is indeed large.
After Renuart's testimony last month, officials with the American Wind Energy Association told the Associated Press that FAA objections had stalled more than a dozen wind-farm projects nationally.
Pueblo Chieftan
According to the Department of Homeland Security, the problem for interference is mostly to the civilian radar systems, which are ancient.
It's not a new problem, but one that has grown in severity with the popularity of wind power and wind towers. In 2008, the Department of Homeland Security ordered a study of the issue. That report commented the nation had an aging civilian radar system and that some remedies were possible through changing the technology of the wind towers.
Pueblo Chieftan
I hate to be sarcastic about the big brains that supposedly run the country, but if the civilian radar system is old, wouldn't it make more sense to upgrade the radar system for civilian aviation rather than require that new wind turbines be constructed of more expensive composite materials to absorb radar signals?