Earth Equity News

Wind Power Industry Retreating from Wyoming, Citing Sage Grouse Concerns. By Scott Streater, Greenwire, August 7, 2009. "Wyoming's wind energy boom is stalling amid growing confusion over state regulations designed to protect environmentally sensitive sage grouse and how those rules should apply to wind power projects. Houston-based Horizon Wind Energy announced last week that it is indefinitely suspending plans to build a [198-turbine] 300-megawatt-capacity wind farm that would have occupied one of dozens of state-designated 'sage grouse core areas' deemed essential to protecting the imperiled bird. In suspending its Simpson Ridge project, Horizon cited ongoing regulatory uncertainty about sage grouse protections, particularly the question of whether proper mitigation plans can be developed that allow for wind turbines to be built in sage grouse core areas. The chicken-like bird depends on Wyoming's sagebrush-steppe habitat for shelter and food. But those same areas, especially in the south-central part of the state, are also among the best wind power development sites in the West, according to industry experts. Horizon had spent more than a year researching sage grouse issues in the area where it planned to build its wind farm. But the company lost confidence in its mitigation plans after the Fish and Wildlife Service made clear last month that it would look very unfavorably upon any wind power project built in a core sage grouse area."