BLM Continues Review of Searchlight Wind Project

The BLM later this month may release a preliminary environmental impact review for Duke Energy's proposed wind project near Searchlight, Nevada, according to Basin and Range Watch.  The project's monstrous proportions would industrialize 38 square miles of desert landscapes with up to 140 wind turbines.  Each turbine would be over 400 feet tall -- that is over 100 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty.  The turbines would pose a threat to hawks, eagles and other bird life in the area, and would require miles of new roads etched into the valleys and hillsides.   You can find beautiful photos of the area, including wildlife and landscapes, at this website put up by Basin and Range Watch.

This graphic shows the height of the Statue of Liberty compared to a wind turbine that is roughly the same size as proposed for the Searchlight Wind project.  Graphic from windfarmfactsutah.
The amount of land that will be transformed by the project is difficult to fathom.  The Google Earth image below shows an overlay of the proposed project footprint on Las Vegas.  If the same project were built in Las Vegas, it would stretch from McCarran International Airport in the south to North Las Vegas, dwarfing the Las Vegas strip.  If the wind project is built, the small town of Searchlight will have more structures over 400 feet high (a total of 140 wind turbines) than all of Las Vegas (which only has 42 buildings over 400 feet hight).   It seems unfair that the citizens of Searchlight will have their landscape changed so dramatically by a single company's project.
Click on image to expand. Blue lines show the borders of the project.  Red dots show locations of wind turbines.
(Click on image to expand) This 3D Google Earth image shows the Las Vegas Strip would be dwarfed by the footprint of the Searchlight Wind project.  There will be 140 of the wind turbines (red dots), each over 400 feet high.  For comparison, Las Vegas only has about 42 buildings taller than 400 feet.

A simple overhead shot of the wind project boundary super-imposed on the City of Las Vegas, Nevada.


(Click on image to expand.)  The small town of Searchlight (upper left quadrant) would be surrounded by an industrial landscape.
When the BLM issues the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the project, it should be available at the BLM website for review and public comment.

Comments

  1. MorongobillDecember 15, 2011 at 9:14 AM

    You got to hand it to Searchlight's "favorite son and grandson," Senator Harry Reid and son, Rory, they are sure "giving back" to the community; actually it is more like payback for some long ago but not forgotten slight- mega sized windmills scarring the land around for generations, long after those two clowns are gone from the scene.

    If I lived there, I would be thinking what the heck did we do to him to deserve this?

    Folks, make sure you check out the link to Basin and Range Watch, and see for yourself, the beautiful desert ecosystem that is about to be destroyed.

    Bill Mcdonald

    ReplyDelete

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