Wind Farm

Google Inc. is investing $55 million in a large Mojave Desert wind farm, pumping fresh air into California's struggling wind power industry. The Internet search giant made the announcement in Anaheim at the industry's largest gathering, where wind farm developers and turbine makers said the investment could be a key step in California's efforts to regain its once enviable title as the world's capital for wind power. "We just fell off a cliff," said Gary Polakovic, a consultant for San Diego wind energy developer EnXco Inc. "But all eyes are on California now. It's our chance to do this right.

Two more golden eagles have been found dead at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power wind farm in the Tehachapi Mountains, for a total of eight carcasses of the federally protected raptors found at the site. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is trying to determine the cause of death of the two golden eagles found Sunday at the Pine Tree wind farm, about 100 miles north of Los Angeles and 15 miles northeast of Mojave, said Lois Grunwald, a spokeswoman for the agency. The agency has determined that the six golden eagles found dead earlier at the 2-year-old wind farm in Kern County were struck by blades from some of the 90 turbines spread across 8,000 acres at the site.

Two more golden eagles have been found dead at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power wind farm in the Tehachapi Mountains, for a total of eight carcasses of the federally protected raptors found at the site. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is trying to determine the cause of death of the two golden eagles found Sunday at the Pine Tree wind farm, about 100 miles north of Los Angeles and 15 miles northeast of Mojave, said Lois Grunwald, a spokeswoman for the agency. The agency has determined that the six golden eagles found dead earlier at the 2-year-old wind farm in Kern County were struck by blades from some of the 90 turbines spread across 8,000 acres at the site.

Federal authorities are investigating the deaths of at least six golden eagles at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power's Pine Tree Wind Project in the Tehachapi Mountains, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Tuesday. So far, no wind-energy company has been prosecuted by federal wildlife authorities in connection with the death of birds protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. A prosecution in the Pine Tree case could cause some rethinking and redesigning of this booming alternative energy source.

It's being called the largest wind power project in the country, with plans for thousands of acres of towering turbines in the Mojave Desert foothills generating electricity for 600,000 homes in Southern California. And now it's finally kicking into gear. The multibillion-dollar Alta Wind Energy Center has had a tortured history, stretching across nearly a decade of ownership changes, opposition from local residents and transmission infrastructure delays. But on Tuesday, the project is officially breaking ground in the Tehachapi Pass, a burgeoning hot spot for wind energy about 75 miles north of Los Angeles.

The Wampanoag Indians of southeastern Massachusetts welcomed the Pilgrims when they arrived on the Mayflower nearly 400 years ago. But now they're trying to stop another newcomer -- wind turbines. Citing customs and religious practices recorded since the earliest contact with Europeans, two local tribes have blocked, at least for now, America's first planned offshore wind farm and the Obama administration's efforts to promote renewable sources of energy. At issue is a private developer's plan to erect 130 wind turbine generators on a sandy shoal in the middle of Nantucket Sound, the scenic channel between Cape Cod and the resort islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket.

Regarding "All Wound Up" [Nov. 8], on the proposed wind farm in Antelope Valley, one defender says at least the wind farm isn't a coal-fired plant spewing junk into the air. Come down to San Diego and I'll show you what a bird of prey looks like after it gets sucked up by the blade of a turbine. MARK POLINSKY San Diego

The Obama administration has approved a long-delayed, highly controversial offshore wind project off Cape Cod, Mass., the Interior Department said Wednesday morning. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is set to announce Wednesday afternoon in Boston the decision to grant federal permits to the Cape Wind project. Cape Wind proposes to string 130 turbines in Massachusetts' scenic Nantucket Sound and supply the majority of the power on Cape Cod and nearby islands. In a decade-long fight, the project has divided Massachusetts politicians, earned objections from the Kennedy family and most recently drawn opposition from Native American tribes.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Thursday rejected a plan to build the county's first power-generating wind farm in the hills northeast of Gorman, despite a 68% reduction in the size of the project since it was proposed three years ago. The board, siding with surrounding landowners and environmental groups, concluded that the wind farm would be a blight on the scenic slopes, promote erosion and threaten birds with its whirring blades.

Utah County cleared the way for the state's first commercial wind farm at the mouth of Spanish Fork Canyon, where winds blow 30 to 40 mph almost like clockwork every night. "I think the tide is turning in Utah and people are starting to recognize we need to generate power from something other than coal," said Tracy Livingston, president of Wasatch Wind LLC, after county commissioners approved the easement.

Donna and Bob Moran moved to the wind-whipped foothills here four years ago looking for solitude and serenity amid the pinyon pines and towering Joshua trees. But lately their view of the valley is being marred by a growing swarm of whirring wind turbines — many taller than the Statue of Liberty — sweeping ever closer to their home. "Once, you could see stars like you wouldn't believe," Donna Moran said. "Now, with the lights from the turbines, you can't even see the night sky. " It's about to get worse.

The wide, green gorge where the majestic Columbia River begins its final push to the sea generates so many stiff breezes that windsurfers from around the world make their way to Hood River, not far from here, to ply their colorful sails atop the churning whitecaps. Lately though, electricity, not recreation, has become the big-ticket wind client in the Columbia Gorge. Wind turbines have sprung up all over the blustery hilltops in eastern Washington and Oregon, an area soon to become home to the largest wind farm in the world, developed for customers of Southern California Edison.

A harsher Honduras Re "Fixing Honduras," Opinion, June 7 Noah Feldman, David Landau and Brian Sheppard speak of the relative calm during the last two years in Honduras. Last March, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights expressed concern about "the disproportionate use of force to quell public demonstrations against the policies of the current government, the lack of an independent judiciary and the situation of human rights defenders. " Nonviolent protests are often met by excessive police force.

Google Inc. is investing $55 million in a large Mojave Desert wind farm, pumping fresh air into California's struggling wind power industry. The Internet search giant made the announcement in Anaheim at the industry's largest gathering, where wind farm developers and turbine makers said the investment could be a key step in California's efforts to regain its once enviable title as the world's capital for wind power. "We just fell off a cliff," said Gary Polakovic, a consultant for San Diego wind energy developer EnXco Inc. "But all eyes are on California now. It's our chance to do this right.

Increasing the amount of electricity we get from renewable sources such as the sun and wind is a national priority and a state mandate. Among the many obstacles to getting that done — opposition to new transmission lines, worries that solar plants will harm endangered species, conflicts over land use — one has until recently remained largely off the public radar screen. But the radar screen is precisely the problem: Wind farms interfere with commercial and military radar systems.

It's being called the largest wind power project in the country, with plans for thousands of acres of towering turbines in the Mojave Desert foothills generating electricity for 600,000 homes in Southern California. And now it's finally kicking into gear. The multibillion-dollar Alta Wind Energy Center has had a tortured history, stretching across nearly a decade of ownership changes, opposition from local residents and transmission infrastructure delays. But on Tuesday, the project is officially breaking ground in the Tehachapi Pass, a burgeoning hot spot for wind energy about 75 miles north of Los Angeles.

Kern County planners have approved a plan to erect up to 300 turbines that would convert the winds that blow through the desert into usable energy. The county Planning Commission approved Power Partners Southwest's proposed wind farm, which could generate enough power to supply about 90,000 homes. But not everybody supports the project, which still needs approval from the Kern County Board of Supervisors. Officials at the Tejon Test Facility, which works on stealth technology testing, say the turbines could interfere with their operations.

The City Council voted Wednesday to allow the Department of Water and Power to purchase electricity from a wind farm in northern Oregon, the fourth such deal in the last year. The proposal is the latest effort by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to generate 20% of the DWP's power from renewable sources by 2010. The council unanimously agreed to pay up to $21.8 million annually to Willow Creek LLC, a subsidiary of the company Invenergy. The agreements approved so far will allow the DWP to secure 14% of its energy from renewable sources by next spring, said Randy Howard, one of its power system managers.

The Obama administration has approved a long-delayed, highly controversial offshore wind project off Cape Cod, Mass., the Interior Department said Wednesday morning. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is set to announce Wednesday afternoon in Boston the decision to grant federal permits to the Cape Wind project. Cape Wind proposes to string 130 turbines in Massachusetts' scenic Nantucket Sound and supply the majority of the power on Cape Cod and nearby islands. In a decade-long fight, the project has divided Massachusetts politicians, earned objections from the Kennedy family and most recently drawn opposition from Native American tribes.

The Wampanoag Indians of southeastern Massachusetts welcomed the Pilgrims when they arrived on the Mayflower nearly 400 years ago. But now they're trying to stop another newcomer -- wind turbines. Citing customs and religious practices recorded since the earliest contact with Europeans, two local tribes have blocked, at least for now, America's first planned offshore wind farm and the Obama administration's efforts to promote renewable sources of energy. At issue is a private developer's plan to erect 130 wind turbine generators on a sandy shoal in the middle of Nantucket Sound, the scenic channel between Cape Cod and the resort islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket.