The BLM’s preferred alternative for Lava Ridge
On June 6, we crossed a major development milestone for the Lava Ridge Wind Project with the release of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) from the Bureau of Land Management. The final EIS encapsulates years of stakeholder engagement, data collection and analyses, the development of alternatives and mitigation, and responses to comments from the public on the proposal.
The Final EIS includes a new agency-preferred alternative that—in our opinion—appears to strike an appropriate balance between the protection of environmental resources and the need for additional domestic energy production. The new preferred alternative points to the benefits of a collaborative process. Input from stakeholders has deeply shaped the new alternative, which benefits Idaho’s future while keeping Lava Ridge viable.
Here are the BLM’s preferred alternative and significant changes:
Figure 1. Comparison of the Proposed Action (Alternative B) corridors and Preferred Alternative corridors.
The number of turbines has been reduced from 400 to 241
The turbine tip height has been reduced to a maximum of 660 feet
Reduced project area and disturbance acreages by nearly 50%
Reduced impacts to important viewshed points around the project.
Removal of turbine corridors within important big game migratory and winter use areas,
Removal of turbine corridors from areas of concern closer to the Jerome County Airport
Removal of turbine corridors to accommodate aerial crop-dusting flight paths to Hidden Valley
Establishment of turbine setbacks from non-participating property owners and residences
Seasonal lockout periods for sage grouse and big game habitat areas
Phasing of construction to accommodate grazing practices
Most importantly, the Preferred Alternative would drastically reduce visual impacts to the Minidoka National Historic Site (NHS). Under the Preferred Alternative, the closest turbine would be approximately nine miles away, compared to the original proposal’s two-mile setback.
For perspective, nine miles is roughly the distance from the Minidoka NHS to Shoshone Falls. This increase in setback will, when combined with the lower turbine height, result in turbines appearing 89% smaller than the original proposal when viewed from the Minidoka NHS. The Preferred Alternative also removes all project infrastructure from the historic footprint of the greater Minidoka War Relocation Center.
Figure 2: Simulated view from MNHS of wind turbines Lava Ridge Preferred Alternative. Note the transmission line in the foreground is part of the current, existing landscape.
Under the Preferred Alternative, the project will still provide significant economic benefits and a tax revenue stream for Idaho and the communities surrounding it.
Meaningful engagement with local stakeholders and consideration of public comments on the Draft EIS shaped the BLM’s configuration of the Preferred Alternative and the analysis in the Final EIS.
This is the goal of the NEPA process, and it has shaped the Lava Ridge Wind Project to balance the protection of environmental resources with the need for additional domestic energy production.
