NIMBY

Eastern WA GOP lawmaker proposes law to limit ‘eyesore’ of blinking red wind turbine lights

Annette Cary
Mon, January 16, 2023 

Wind turbines would no longer be allowed have continuously blinking red lights at night under a bill proposed by new Washington state Rep. April Connors, R-Kennewick.

Several states already require Aircraft Detection Lighting Systems for wind turbines that only turn lights on to alert low-flying airplanes as they draw near and then shut off when they have passed.

The legislation, if approved, would apply to the Horse Heaven wind farm proposed for just south of the Tri-Cities along the Horse Heaven ridge line, which is the immediate concern of some of those who support the bill.

But existing wind farms in the state also would be required to install aircraft detection systems meeting Federal Aviation Administration standards by 2026.

Pilots flying at low altitudes at night rely on the blinking lights on wind turbines for safety, “but for many, many others they are a disturbing eyesore and an invasive nuisance,” said Paul Krupin, a Kennewick scientist and attorney, at a hearing on House Bill 1173 on Monday before the Washington state House Environment and Energy Committee.

The lights do not need to be on all the time, he said.

FAA approves light detection

The Federal Aviation Administration has approved systems that detect aircraft radar to turn on only when planes are flying low in the vicinity.

James Conca, a Richland scientist, said at the hearing that the lights are needed only 2% to 3% of the time.

This view from above South Clodfelter Road looks northeast from a proposed Horse Heaven wind turbine site to houses in the Tripple Vista, Summit View, Badger Mountain South and Rancho Reata developments.

The blinking red lights of the Horse Heaven Clean Energy project would be visible at night up to 20 to 30 miles away, Krupin said.

Plans call for 244 turbines about 500 feet tall or 150 turbines with blades extending about 670 feet high, which is taller than the Seattle Space Needle.

More than 100,000 people would live within six miles of the turbines, the majority of them in city limits, by one analysis done by Krupin and Tri-Cities Community Action for Responsible Environmental Stewardship.

Most wind farms are not built in areas close to so may homes, Conca said.

Elsewhere in the state only 20,000 people live within six miles of a wind turbine, according to Krupin.

Connors said the first time she saw the blinking lights of existing wind turbines in the dark sky along Highway 12 between the Tri-Cities and Walla Walla, she was startled enough to reach over to her husband.

Scout Clean Energy plans a wind farm on Benton County farm land south of the Tri-Cities along the Horse Heaven Hills ridgeline south of Badger Road.

One Tri-Cities residents told her that the blinking lights are hypnotic and distracting to drivers, she said.

“In Eastern Washington, while we do not have a lot of say ... where things are basically sited in our region, it is important to us to protect and maintain the beauty of our landscape,” Connors said.

The Washington state Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council is evaluating the proposal for the Horse Heaven project, with Gov. Jay Inslee making the final decision on it.
Wind turbines too costly?

The Association of Washington Business is concerned that costs for adding aircraft detection lighting systems, particularly on existing wind turbines, would be passed on as higher rates to electricity users, said Peter Godlewski, the group’s director of government affairs for energy, environment and water.

Krupin said the cost of the intermittent lighting systems is not prohibitive and would reduce public opposition to nearby wind turbines. It also could diminish the perceived risks of harm to property values and tourism, he said.

Under one proposed configuration of the Horse Heaven Hills Wind Farm south of the Tri-Cities, more than 200 turbines could be seen from areas shown in the darkest purple.

Tri-Cities business leaders have been concerned that the colorful sunsets enjoyed by tourists at wineries from the Tri-Cities to Benton City would be marred by wind turbines along the Horse Heaven ridge line.

Conca estimated that the lighting systems would cost 0.1% of the total cost of the Horse Heaven Clean Energy Center.

“These folks are making tons of money on these projects, most of which goes out of state,” Conca said. “So they can certainly do something for the people of this state who are bearing the burden and getting almost none of the benefit.”

The fiscal analysis for the bill estimated a Washington state government cost of $846,000 as rules are developed for aircraft detection lighting systems by the Department of Ecology, in cooperation with the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council and the state Department of Transportation.

Germany began requiring aircraft detection lighting systems for every turbine in the country this year, Connors said.

States that already require the systems include North and South Dakota, Vermont and New Hampshire, with Colorado, Minnesota and Kansas considering the requirement, according to supporters of the bill.

Live in Tri-Cities? Here’s how many wind turbines you might soon see from your house

Annette Cary
Mon, January 16, 2023 at 12:36 PM MST·6 min read

“Too many turbines, too close to people” say three Kennewick area residents who crunched the numbers for the proposed Horse Heaven Clean Energy Center.

Scout Clean Energy proposes two scenarios along the Horse Heaven Hills just south of Kennewick from Finley to Benton City:

Up to 244 turbines up to 500 feet tall

Up to 150 turbines up to 670 feet high

“Benton County people are impacted disproportionately to every other county in the state, in the Northwest and even several states beyond,” by wind turbine projects, said Paul Krupin of Kennewick a scientist and attorney who worked on environmental issues for the federal government for three decades.


He and Tri-Cities CARES members Dave Sharp of Kennewick, a retired manager of Wyoming wind farms, and Pam Minelli, a Tri-Cities area homeowner, have been poring over the Horse Heaven project’s draft environmental impact statement to better understand the proposed project and submit public comments on it by the end of the month.

The state Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council will decide whether to recommend the project to Gov. Jay Inslee, who will make the final decision.

The nonprofit Tri-Cities CARES, or Community Action for Responsible Environmental Stewardship, was formed to help protect the Horse Heaven Hills habitat and the natural landscape of the Tri-Cities area.

This view from above South Clodfelter Road looks northeast from a proposed Horse Heaven wind turbine site to houses in the Tripple Vista, Summit View, Badger Mountain South and Rancho Reata developments.

The three found the draft study lacking, including a failure to analyze the proposed wind project’s impact on the people who would live near it, they said.

They say an analysis shows that the turbines will be visible, including their blinking red lights at night, from many areas of Kennewick, Richland and Pasco.

For instance, more than 100 turbines will be visible from downtown Richland, they say.

The view for residents of the Tripple Vista neighborhood between Badger and Clodfelter roads would include 137 to 199 wind turbines during the day and the blinking lights of 148 to 107 turbines at night, according to data the group pulled from the environmental impact statements’ visual impact assessment.

The blinking lights are set at the top of the turbine hub, with the blades stretching higher into the sky to be seen during the day.

In Franklin County, along the Columbia riverfront the turbines will be visible from the Interstate 82 bridge downriver almost as far as the blue bridge, according to the group’s analysis. Even more would be seen at higher elevations in Pasco, although they would be distant.

The boundary of the proposed Horse Heaven Clean Energy Center south of the Tri-Cities is shown. Solar arrays could be in the yellow areas of the map.

At the top of Webber Canyon, the turbines “will stretch from one horizon to the other,” Krupin said.

The main I-82 entrance to Kennewick would be flanked by towering turbines, he said.
Tri-Cities turbines vs. Washington

“You cannot imagine how big this project is until you get down on the ground and see it,” Krupin said. “It is huge.”

The project will cover 110 square miles, with 105 miles of roads crossing arroyos and other non-agriculture land, Sharp said.

Between the Horse Heaven wind farm and the nearby and smaller Nine Canyon wind farm, just over 100,000 residents of Benton County will live within six miles of a turbine, according to the group’s computer analysis that relies on U.S. Census tract data.

That’s five times more than the estimated 20,000 people who live within six miles of a wind farm across the rest of Washington state, the said.

Other Washington state counties with wind farms average about 2,000 people living within six miles, according to the group.

“You just don’t develop them in a metropolitan area. They are out in a rural area,” Sharp said.

And the number of people living near the turbines, should the project go forward as proposed, would increase in time, they said.

This panoramic view looks northeast off Badger Canyon Road shows Badger Mountain, Benton City and towards West Richland through the saddle of Badger and Candy Mountains, at right..

The Nine Canyon project started with about 17,500 residents within six miles in 2000, but due to project expansions and population growth now has about 59,000 people within six miles, they said.

The group picked six miles to analyze as the distance before wind turbines are far enough away to blend into the landscape.

Minelli says her home between I-82 and East Badger Road now has a 180-degree view of countryside, with hawks soaring outside her deck.

“We live there because we like the tranquility of the rural views, the rural sounds,” she said.

But now she and thousands of others face the industrialization of their rural views, she said.

“These projects need to be put in a rural area that doesn’t change the lifestyle and the ability of us to enjoy our homes,” she said.
Fewer wind turbines possible?

Krupin, Sharp and Minelli are calling for Scout Clean Energy to reduce the number of turbines it expects to be most visible to people living in Benton County, which include those in the Horse Heaven Hills wildlife corridor.

Washington state Fish and Wildlife Department has recommended that wind infrastructure be no closer than a half mile from a wildlife corridor, according to the group.

Although the group found the draft environmental impact statement short on specifics, they think that the number of proposed turbines could be reduced and Scout could still meet its generation goals.

They have been sharing their analysis with local government and other community leaders, but Scout Clean Energy has not seen it.

Dave Kobus, senior project manager for the Horse Heaven project, said the process of determining project viability is complicated and requires access to proprietary data, complicated financial modeling and confidential manufacturer data not publicly available.

This view shows the Dennis Road possible wind turbine tower location east of Weber Canyon looking northwest towards Benton City.

He said that the Washington state Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council, or EFSEC, has “run a rigorous, independent analysis spanning nearly two years and is suggesting mitigation measure that go well beyond established precedent in several areas.”

Among mitigation measures suggested in the draft environmental impact statement are requiring turbines to be more than a half mile from residents whose land is not part of the project and steps to prevent or minimize the flickering shadows that could be cast on homes by rotating blades.

Measures also are suggested to help protect wildlife.

“We are fully committed to working through the adjudication process and closely reviewing the draft EFSEC document as well as any public comments provided to EFSEC to assure mitigation is appropriate,” Kobus said.

“The commercial aspects of the technology selection and placement will continue to be reviewed as we progress through the EFSEC process deliberation,” he said.

The proposed project includes solar panels and battery storage in addition to wind turbines.