Wyden, Merkley, Praise DOD Decision to Approve New Wind Farms in Oregon
Announcement Greenlights Much-Needed Job Creation in Eastern Oregon
Washington, DC – After months of working with the Department of Defense (DoD) to strike a balance between domestic energy and national security needs, U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) praised the Department’s announcement today that it will no longer block the development of eight new wind farms: six in Oregon and two in Washington state.
Earlier this year DoD halted new wind farm construction in Eastern Oregon and Eastern Washington after determining that the proposed Shepherds Flat wind farm in Eastern Oregon would impact an aging radar system near Fossil, Oregon. While the Shepherds Flat wind farm was ultimately allowed to move forward when DoD announced in April that it would upgrade its radar system, other projects remained on hold until now.
“From our earliest conversations about Shepherds Flat it was clear that the Pentagon had never been asked to factor domestic energy needs into their national security decisions, it literally wasn’t on their radar,” said Wyden. “But DoD deserves a lot of credit, not just for, clearing the way for the construction of more than 1,100 wind turbines and the hundreds of jobs that these projects will create, but for working to create a process that will now balance these two important national priorities.”
“I’m grateful that the Department of Defense has given us the green light to allow six wind farms to be built in Oregon,” said Merkley “These new wind farms will mean more jobs for Oregonians and that is exactly what we need right now.”
The following Oregon and Washington Wind Turbine Projects were cleared by DoD this afternoon:
Horseshoe Bend Wind LLC/Caithness, Arlington, Oregon
2010-WTW-8135 to 8148 & 8151 to 8168 & 8171 to 8174-OE
Horseshoe Bend Wind LLC/Caithness, Arlington,Oregon
2010-WTW-9639 to 9641-OE
WLAB, Hardman, Oregon
2010-WTW-7986 to 8970 –OE Oregon
Baseline Wind LLC at First Wind, Arlington, Oregon
2010-WTW-8235 to 8460-OE Oregon
Horizon Wind Energy, Arlington, Oregon
2010-WTW-7234 to 7448-OE Oregon
Iberdrola Renewables Montague, Arlington, Oregon
2010-WTW-2666 to 2890-OE Oregon
Iberdrola Renewables at Juniper Canyon 2, Roosevelt, Washington
2010-WTW-7617 to 7762-OE Washington
Horizon Wind at Heritage Wind, Brickleton, Washington
2010-WTW-7453 to 7565-OE Washington
The total number of turbines under these determinations is 1128.
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