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Lompoc Wind Energy
Project
What's New
The Santa Barbara County Planning Commission voted unanimously (5-0) to certify the Final EIR and approve the Conditional Use Permit and Variance for the Lompoc Wind Energy Project in a public hearing on September 30, 2008.
The all-day hearing was well attended. During the public comment period 37 people spoke, most expressing strong support for the project. Significant adverse impacts of the project were raised and discussed. Property owners adjacent to the project site expressed concern about noise and visual impacts. Representatives of the environmental community, including Environmental Defense Center and Audubon Society, asked the Commission to consider more stringent protections, monitoring, and mitigation measures for birds and bats, which may be killed by the wind turbines. The Commission approved the project with minor modifications to the proposed bird mortality monitoring program and project decommissioning provisions. The CEQA findings of approval include a Statement of Overriding Considerations that project approval is warranted, notwithstanding that not all significant environmental impacts are fully mitigated.
The hearing was televised live and recorded by the County government TV station. DVD copies can be purchased from CSBTV. The hearing is posted in 6 parts on the CSBTV Archives site.
Please follow the links to the staff report, final conditions of approval, and Final EIR. The public comment letters for this hearing are posted at the Planning Commission website.
The Planning Commission's approval of the project has been appealed to the County Board of Supervisors. Appeals were filed by George and Cheryl Bedford and by the California Department of Fish and Game.
Planning and Development staff contact for this project is John Day (805)568-2045.
What’s
Next?
County procedures provide for an informal consultation between parties involved in land use permit appeals. A consultation, facilitated by County Counsel, will be initiated in this case in an attempt to settle the differences. If the issues are not resolved and the appeals are not withdrawn, the Board of Supervisors will consider the appeals in two public hearings and will affirm, reverse, or modify the decision of the Planning Commission. In advance of the hearings, P&D staff will prepare staff reports responding to the points of appeal. The hearings are tentatively scheduled for December 16, to be announced by newspaper advertisement, announcement on this web site, and mailed notice to everyone who has requested to be placed on the project mailing list.
For further information, please contact John Day at (805)568-2045.
Project Information
An application for a Major Conditional Use Permit was filed on February 21, 2006, for a wind energy project, to be located on the wind-swept ridges south of Lompoc, adjacent to Vandenberg AFB. This will be the first major wind energy project in the County and would provide a significant source of alternative energy. The applicant is Pacific Renewable Energy Generation LLC (“Pacific”), a subsidiary of Acciona Wind Energy USA, of Solana Beach, Calif.
The proposed project is situated entirely inland of the County’s Coastal Zone; the southern project boundary abuts the Coastal Zone boundary along the Vandenberg Air Force Base property line. The wind farm and power line will be located in the County’s 3rd Supervisorial District, except the final stretch of the power line will cross into the 4th District just south of the Lompoc City limit. The proposed wind farm consists of up to 65 wind turbines, each standing 389-397 feet high, including blades. Total electric generation capacity will be up to 97.5 megawatts, enough to power over 40,000 households. The power output will be sold to PG&E through a long-term power purchase agreement. A new power line will run from the project site to connect into an existing power line near PG&E’s Cabrillo Substation at the southwest corner of Lompoc. The wind turbines will be located on agriculturally-zoned grazing land (10 parcels; 2,950 acres), under 30-year lease agreements with the landowners. Existing gravel/dirt roads on the properties will be widened and some new roads constructed. Plans include an operations and maintenance building and an electrical substation on the project site. The project may be constructed in up to three phases over seven years. According to Harley McDonald, Pacific’s project manager, the company currently anticipates that approximately 40 turbines will be constructed in the first phase. These turbines will be located in the southern, central, and eastern areas of the project site, leaving the northwestern quadrant for a subsequent phase or phases.
The project application was found complete on June 1, 2006. Once the County determined that an EIR was required, a Notice of Preparation was filed with the State Clearinghouse on June 30, 2006. The County released the Draft EIR on July 17, 2007. Many comments were received, primarily on the Aesthetic/Visual and Biological Resource sections. The visual resources section was revised and recirculated for further public comment on May 6, 2008. The biological resources section was rewritten in response to comments to expand and clarify the description of existing biological resources (baseline) and to improve the analysis of anticipated environmental impacts and recommended mitigation measures, particularly regarding avian issues. The County released the proposed Final EIR on September 5, 2008.
Many project-related documents are posted on this website. They may be accessed through the links in the Project Chronology, below.
For further information, please contact John Day at (805) 568-2045.
Typical Landscape at Proposed
Project Site |
Wind Farm in
Similar Setting (Spain) |
Project
Chronology
- February 21, 2006 – Application
filed for Major Conditional Use Permit.
- May 24, 2006 – The Santa Barbara
County Planning Commission held a Conceptual
Review hearing on the project. Staff
gave a brief
overview , followed by a presentation
by Michelle Conway of Acciona
Wind Energy USA LLC. The staff’s
report for the hearing includes the
applicant’s project description
and a site map. It is available at
the Planning
Commission web site.
Public comments
were heard from the Community Environmental
Council, two City of Lompoc representatives,
a project parcel owner, a project neighbor,
and a Lompoc resident. Most speakers
were supportive of the project, but
identified a number of concerns, including:
a) possible viewshed impacts from the Lompoc
Valley; b) transmission line route; c)
ground water resources; and d) impacts
to Frick Springs, which is part of Lompoc’s
water supply.
The Commission took no action, as this
was a conceptual review hearing. The
Commissioners’ comments were generally
favorable and supportive of the project
proceeding to further review, while recognizing
that potential environmental impacts
have yet to be studied. Staff was urged
to proceed with environmental review
as soon as possible. The Commissioners’ comments
during the hearing are summarized in
the marked
agenda.
- June 1, 2006 – The permit
application was found complete for
processing.
- June 2, 2006 – The project
was reviewed by the County’s
Agricultural Preserve Advisory Committee,
as the project properties are under
Agricultural Preserve Contracts. The
Committee determined the project to
be consistent with the Uniform Rules
for Agricultural Preserves.
- June 30, 2006 – A Notice
of Preparation (NOP) was filed
with the State Clearinghouse. The
NOP initiated the Environmental Impact
Report ( EIR) preparation process.
- July 17, 2006 – An EIR Scoping
Meeting was held at Lompoc City Council
Chambers. Following a presentation
by County staff, members of the public
spoke about a number of potential adverse
impacts of the project, including bird
mortality from turbine operation and
visual impacts from turbines and power lines. Several
speakers described beneficial impacts.
- August 15, 2006 – The contract
for preparation of the EIR was approved
by the Santa Barbara County Board of
Supervisors. The consultant was selected
cooperatively by the Project Applicant
and the County.
- July 17, 2007 – Draft Environmental
Impact Environmental Report (EIR) released.
Public comment period began. The entire Draft
EIR is available for public review.
Copies are available for review in
Santa Barbara County Planning and
Development (P&D) offices and
several public libraries.
- Details are available on the Notice
of Availability. CD copies may
be obtained from our office.
The
Draft EIR identifies potential environmental
impacts, mitigation measures, residual
impacts and monitoring requirements.
It documents that the Project could have
significant short-term, construction
impacts in the following areas: Visual
Resources, Air Quality, Biological Resources,
Cultural Resources, Fire Hazards/Emergency
Services, Geology/Soils, Land Use, Noise,
Paleontological Resources, Risk/Safety,
Traffic/Circulation, and Water Resources.
The Project could also have significant
long-term, operational impacts to Visual
Resources, Biological Resources, Fire
Hazards/Emergency Services, Land Use,
Noise, Risk/Safety, and Water Resources.
Most of the environmental impacts would
be reduced to less than significant through
implementation of mitigation measures
proposed by the Project Applicant and
other measures proposed by the County.
However, long-term operational impacts
to Visual Resources and Biological Resources
would remain significant and unavoidable.
Significant visual impacts would include
views of wind turbines from Jalama Beach
County Park and of the proposed new power
line along Highway 1 near Lompoc. The visual
impacts of the power line could be reduced
to less than significant by means of an
Applicant-proposed alternative route. Potential
for protected bird and bat species to be
killed through collisions with wind turbine
blades is found to be an unavoidable significant
impact to Biological Resources.
The Project’s significant and
adverse effects should be considered
in light of its beneficial effects. Beneficial
effects include generation of 80 to 120
megawatts of alternative energy and support
for continuing agricultural use of the
project area.
- August 6, 2007 – Public
workshop on Draft EIR held in
Lompoc.
- August 30, 2007 – Public
comment hearing on Draft EIR held in
Lompoc. Comments were presented by
eleven members of the public, organizations
and agencies. While most comments were
supportive of wind energy, concerns
were raised about the adequacy of the
draft EIR analysis in several issue
areas, including of potential impacts
to biological and visual resources,
and effects on local residents.
- September 4, 2007 – Close
of public comment period. Late submittals
were accepted from California Department
of Fish and Game (CDFG) and U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Twenty-nine
written comments were received. Comments
from the Audubon Society, Environmental
Defense Center, CDFG and USFWS center
on potential impacts to biological
resources, particularly birds. Comments
from California Department of Parks
and Recreation include concerns about
visual impacts on La Purisima Mission.
Comments from PG&E and California
Public Utilities Commission focus mainly
on jurisdictional questions relating
to the proposed power line from the
project site to Lompoc. Other issue
areas discussed in the comments include
visual impacts, noise, archeological
resources, traffic, impact on emergency
services, and effects on local residents.
- February 26, 2008 – New contract
approved for Aspen Environmental Group
to prepare the final EIR.
- May 6 – 20, 2008 – Partial recirculation of Visual Resources section of draft EIR. The following documents are available: Notice of availability, Cover letter for recirculated section, Revised draft Aesthetic/Visual Resources section.
- September 5, 2008 -- Proposed Final EIR released. The following documents are available on this website: Announcement of Availability; Final EIR.
- September 30, 2008 – Planning Commission hearing. The Planning Commission voted unanimously to certify the EIR (with modifications) and to approve the Conditional Use Permit and associated Variance. The hearing notice and staff report prepared for this hearing are available on this site. The final modifications incorporated into the Final EIR prior to certification will be posted here shortly. The final approved permit conditions, including modifications made during the hearing, will also be posted here. The public comment letters for this hearing and errata submitted before the hearing are posted at the Planning Commission website.
Planning and Development staff contact for this project is John Day (805)568-2045.
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