A controversial wind turbine project was recently approved by the Washington Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council and now requires a signature from Governor Chris Gregoire in Washington State for final approval. The site location is in the Columbia Gorge on private forest land in Skamania County. The wind farm project, called Whistling Ridge, originally planned for a total of 50 wind turbines, but was reduced by 15 to protect views in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.

The wind turbines would stand 420 feet tall and be visible from the Columbia River, I-84, the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, the towns of Hood River and White Salmon, and the Historic Columbia River Highway. At maximum capacity the project will produce 75 megawatts of energy, enough to power roughly 75,000 homes if you assume the average household uses 10,000 KW hours a year.

Nearby landowners have opposed the project since its application in 2008. Landowners are concerned about their view being obstructed and are also worried about the noise generated from the turbines.

I have a couple colleagues who live in Washington State, so I decided to ask them what their feelings and opinions were on the wind turbine project. One coworker who lives in Amboy, Washington in neighboring Clark County thought the project was a good idea for the region.

“I actually like the idea of seeing those turbines being put up around here – I mean why not? It’s a good place for them. I like knowing that they’re generating clean power” he said.

When asked about what he thought of the view obstruction, he replied that he didn’t mind how they looked and thought they aren’t that ugly.

Another one of my colleagues who lives in Vancouver, Washington said “my only issue with wind turbines in general is due to the fact they require a lot of subsidies and they never fully recoup the cost because of all the maintenance required for them…so I sort of just think its a waste of money.”

Friends of the Columbia Gorge were also opposed to the project because of their concerns over the northern spotted owl.

The proposal, located within a designated “Spotted Owl Special Emphasis Area,” would harm eagles, hawks, bats and the already endangered spotted owl.

They are also quoted as being concerned about the visual impact of the turbines. Friends of the Columbia Gorge are collecting names for a petition they’ve started although it’s unclear how many people have signed the petition.

The $150 million project was first proposed by a nearby lumber company, SDS Lumber Co. of Bingen and its partner, Broughton Lumber Co., in 2008. The companies proposed to develop the wind farm on 1,152 acres immediately north of the National Scenic Area boundary.

A final environmental impact statement paid for by the applicants and released in August said the Whistling Ridge project would provide a temporary boost to the Gorge economy of about $13.2 million during construction. Eight or nine permanent employees would be needed to operate the wind farm, which would have a projected life of 30 years. Skamania County would see an increase in its annual property tax revenue of approximately $730,000 due to the increased assessed value of the wind farm property.

It’s unclear if the project will receive tax credits or subsidies to build the project from the feds or state government.