EMAIL DETAILS

*Pentagon objections hold up Oregon wind farm*

By Juliet Eilperin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, April 15, 2010; 9:09 PM

One of the Obama administration's prime initiatives -- the development of
sources of alternative energy to reduce U.S. reliance on foreign oil, create
American jobs and combat climate change -- is being jeopardized by competing
concerns of the Defense Department.

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
permit.

The move has sparked an intense lobbying battle and White House-led
negotiations as senior Obama administration officials hope to avert a
showdown that could cost 16,000 American jobs. 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<http://www.whorunsgov.com/Profiles/Ron_Wyden> (D-Ore.)
said the dispute "is not about one project. It's about the future of
renewable, domestic, clean power."

The standoff centers on whether the blades of the Shepherds Flat project's
338 turbines would interfere with a radar system in Fossil, Ore., because
radar signals reflect off the blades when they're in certain positions. The
Pentagon, which did not respond to media queries, shut down national
permitting for wind farms for several months in 2006 based on radar
concerns, prompting a Sierra Club
lawsuit<http://www.sierraclub.org/pressroom/releases/pr2006-08-24.asp>.
The FAA declined to comment on the matter.

The FAA sent notices to Caithness Energy, a company that has spent nearly
four decades developing renewable energy projects, and an array of local
landowners who plan to host wind turbines on their property, saying the
structures pose "a hazard to air navigation." In the letter to landowners,
the FAA indicated that the turbines would exceed "obstruction standards
and/or would have an adverse physical or electromagnetic interference effect
upon navigable airspace or air navigation facilities."

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<http://www.gepower.com/about/press/en/2009_press/121009.htm>
.

Any significant delays in construction could kill the wind farm, according
Caithness Executive Vice President Ross Ain, because the project, which
would take 18 months to complete, will lose its eligibility for federal
stimulus funds unless it's finished by the end of 2012. In addition, the
farm is supposed to start supplying power to Southern California Edison by
late next year, and the utility is under pressure to meet the state's strict
renewable portfolio standards.

"We're extremely disappointed that the concerns raised by the Air Force at
the 25th hour threatens to crater literally billions of dollars of renewable
energy in the United States and tens of thousands of jobs in renewable
energy," Ain said.

Several proponents of the project -- including Wyden and Sen. Jeff
Merkley<http://www.whorunsgov.com/Profiles/Jeff_Merkley> (D-Ore.),
as well as Caithness and GE officials -- have lobbied the White House on the
matter. Wyden has indicated that he will put a hold on the nomination of
Sharon Burke, who is in line to direct the Defense Department's Operational
Energy Plans and Programs, until the two sides can reach agreement.

Pentagon officials have met with aides to White House Chief of Staff Rahm
Emanuel <http://www.whorunsgov.com/Profiles/Rahm_Emanuel>, National Economic
Council Director Lawrence H.
Summers<http://www.whorunsgov.com/Profiles/Lawrence_H._Summers> and
White House energy and climate change adviser Carol
Browner<http://www.whorunsgov.com/Profiles/Carol_M._Browner> in
an effort to resolve the impasse. Merkley was awaiting a call from Emanuel
on Thursday afternoon and said if he didn't receive it that day, "he'll hear
back from me."

The Pentagon's move has put in jeopardy three nearby wind farms being
developed by Iberdrola Renewables. Together with Shepherds Flat, the
projects would produce 3,000 megawatts, an amount of electricity equivalent
to three nuclear power plants.

Iberdrola Renewables spokeswoman Jan Johnson said the projects had been
found not to pose an air navigation hazard, but because of minor
modifications, it is undergoing a second round of FAA review. "They're
certainly taking a look at the issue of being close to the Fossil, Oregon,
radar," she said.

Skye Krebs, a rancher whose land will hold part of the Shepherds Flat
project, said he and other local residents are stunned by the turnabout.

"We don't take national security lightly," Krebs said in an interview. But,
he added, "holding this project hostage at the last minute has caused a
whole lot of hurt for a whole lot of people."

Less than two weeks ago, he said, one of the project contractors threw a
barbecue for area residents. Krebs had started constructing a house with the
"big dollars" he was getting for having wind turbines on his ranch. But last
week, he told the men working on the house to stop.

"That's three jobs right there," he said. "I sent the people working on the
house home last week because I just don't know how this whole thing's going
to shake out."
--
Eric D. Schwerin
Rosemont Seneca Partners
(202) 333-1880
[email protected]