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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (May 23, 2018)
Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, May 23, 2018 Developer wants to alter proposed wind farm permit - THREE Baseball players selected for all-conference teams Nextera Energy seeks higher towers, longer blades and battery storage on its Wheatridge Wind Farm By David Sykes The developer of an al- ready approved 292-tower wind farm straddling both Morrow and Umatilla coun- ties, has made application to the Oregon Department of Energy (ODE) asking to increase the tower and blade heights, and also construct two large battery facilities for storage of the wind-generated electric- ity. Nextera Energy made the revised application to ODE in April, and has not yet heard if its request has been granted. If approved, the new plan would allow for a combined tower and blade height of 500.5 feet, or 24.5 feet higher than the current permit allows. The bigger blades power a more technologically advanced turbine which is best suited for wind generation in this area, the request said. The company also indicated they “may”, but are not sure, build fewer towers if the permit is granted. The proposed wind farm is divided into two groups of towers with Wheatridge West located entirely within Morrow County approximately seven miles northwest of Heppner. Wheatridge East is located approximately 16 miles northeast of Heppner and will span Morrow and Umatilla Counties. There is also an approved 32-mile interconnecting power line between the two sites. Also in the revised ap- plication is a request to con- struct two battery storage facilities, one 20 megawatt near the project substation in Morrow County, and one 30 MW in Umatilla County. The battery storage facili- ties would allow Nextera to provide electricity in a steady stream, instead of just when the wind blows. The company said the bat- teries would also help with “load balancing” when the power grid needs to provide different levels of electric- ity depending on demand. Nextera has experi- ence in battery storage at its facilities in both Penn- sylvania and Illinois. The 20MW Morrow County facility would probably need around 3,000 batter- ies. The Umatilla battery facility would need more with its 30MW capacity. A converter would also be built at the site since wind power produces alternating current and batteries only store direct current. The power is then converted back into AC before it is fed into the grid for distribution Baseball players selected for all-conference teams are Wyatt Steagall, Peyton Lehman, Beau Wolters and Coby Dougherty. -Contributed photo. If a revised wind farm plan is approved by the state, a battery energy storage facility like this one will be built in Morrow County. The facility has 3,000 batteries and stores power gen- erated from the wind towers. to consumers. No timeline has been given for when ODE may reply to the revised plan request, however, under the original permit construc- tion, the the wind project must begin by May 24, 2020 and be completed by May 24, 2023. To speed things up Nextera had asked the ODE to put the re- vised plan on a fast track approval process, saying the proposed revisions did not alter the original plan enough to require a higher level of scrutiny. The state disagreed, and said because of the addition of the bat- tery storage facility and the unknown impact of larger wind blades on the envi- ronment, it would require the permit go through the longer process, including public hearings and public input. At a May 16 meeting, the Morrow County Com- missioners also addressed the wind farm changes in a letter to the Department of Energy. The commis- sion voted to write a letter asking for the fast track process, citing one reason for quicker review as the length of time already taken to get the wind farm per- mitted. “…application was submitted in late 2014 and deemed complete in July 2015. It then took nearly two years to get to a final order and site certificate in mid-2017,” the commission wrote in its letter. “Dur- ing that time, wind energy technology changed and efficiencies such as battery storage were developed or improved. With a potential buyer in sight and develop- ment pending, the need for a project utilizing current technologies is imperative,” the letter stressed. The letter went on to say the changes to the original plan were not substantial enough to war- rant the longer-term hearing process. The commissioners voted 2-0 in favor of send- ing the letter to the state, with Commissioner Melissa Lindsay saying she was abstaining from the vote because of a “conflict of in- terest.” She did not specify the conflict but did say she was not opposed to wind farms or people who make money off their property with the towers. However, Lindsay added, “I do think we should have a discus- sion with all of the people impacted by wind projects. I want to protect economic development which I am all for,” Lindsay said. “But I think we need to protect the people around it also.” Morrow County Plan- ner Carla McLane said the planning commission has talked a lot about renewable energy in the county with no agreement on having an open comment session on renewables. “It’s an al- lowed use (on agricultural zoned land),” she pointed out. McLane also added that there are currently no county standards for wind projects. “When you start to consider protecting a view- shed (what people look at) you have to be careful what you are protecting peo- ple from,” she said. When speaking about potential turbine noise, McLane said there are state noise stan- dards on the books, but the state has no money to enforce these rules. Four Heppner Mus- tang baseball players were recently honored by being selected to all-conference teams for their performance on the baseball diamond this season. Receiving first team all-conference honors and medals were seniors Beau Wolters, Coby Dougherty and Peyton Lehman. An honorable mention all-con- ference award was given to fellow senior Wyatt Stea- gall. According to a spokes- person, these four senior baseball players have cer- tainly made a difference in the Heppner Mustang baseball program over the years and they will certainly be missed next season. It is good to see their play this year rewarded by the conference coaches who voted for them to receive these honors. Road 24 reconstruction completed early The Umatilla National Forest announced that the Road 24 reconstruction project has been completed ahead of schedule. Equip- ment is being moved out of the area this week. The Road 24 project, started in April, was located 15 miles northeast of Spray and about one mile south of Bull Prairie Lake on the Heppner Ranger District. The segment of road under construction was between Highway 207 and the junc- tion of FSR 2407, which provides access to Tama- rack Lookout. The contractor’s goal was to complete the proj- ect prior to Memorial Day Weekend, but the contract was effective until June 8, if additional time was needed. For additional informa- tion on this project, please contact the Heppner Ranger District at 541-676-9187. 4-H Club plants flowers Heppner Grow Em & Show Em group planted flowers at the library. Pictured (L-R): Shayna, Zandra, Zabrena, Trevor, Aden, Cody, Brock, Adan and Owen. -Contributed photo. The Heppner Grow Em and Show Em 4-H club chose to replant flowers at the library, pull weeds and pick up garbage throughout the park as their community service project. The members will be completing several more community service projects over the summer. Ione summer reading program scheduled Oregon Rocks is the 2018 theme for the sum- mer reading program at Ione Public Library. The Rock and Roll Caveman presented by the Dragon Theater kicks off the pro- gram on June 12 at the Ione Library. “The puppet show starts with the caveman hearing a style of music, then continues to explore a wide range of music from classical to old fashioned rock and roll,” said Becky Doherty, Ione’s librarian. “It’s fun, fast paced and a great way to start rocking through the summer,” she continued. “We have lots of new things planned for the summer, including Oregon Rocks from the Museum of Natural and Cultural His- tory and a song-filled morn- ing with Joe Lindsay, where everyone will be playing along on their own flutes and kazoos. July 24 wraps up the year with team geo- caching at the Ione Park.” said Terry Feld a, program coordinator. The program is also trying to be as bilingual as possible with story times in both Spanish and English. The library is also enlarging their collection of bilingual books for young readers. Program dates are June 12, 19, 26, July 10, 17 and 24 from 10 a.m. to noon and is open to all children ages four through fourth grade. There will be story time for the younger children along with crafts, science proj- ects, music and snack time. LES SCHWAB WOULD LIKE TO CONGRATULATE THE MUSTANG SOFTBALL TEAM FOR A GREAT SEASON Back Row (standing): Head Coach Rick Johnston, Asst Coach John McCabe, Larysa Burright, Ma- Linda Morter, Eva Martin, Kacie Gray, Tresslyn McCurry, Maggie Flynn, Alyse Wentz, Dakota Durfey, Madison Ashbeck, Cami VanArsdale, Asst Coach Janelle Ellis, Asst Coach Mike Correa Front Row : Gennell Blakley, Alexis Cutsforth,Sage Ferguson, Morgan Orem, Sydney Wilson, Morgan Correa, Aimee Turrell, Stephany Dubry. -Photo by Damon Brosnan ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE: MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M.