Industrial Impacts to Wildlands
July, 2010 - New utility-scale wind projects are actively being built in California, giving a glimpse of landscape impacts from new roads, foundation pads, trenches for electric cables, and traffic. Many rare plants and native grasses grow in these hills. Renewable energy can be a good idea but 400-foot steel towers will disturb large areas of land.
^Delicate curving awns of the native bunchgrass Nodding needlegrass (Nassella cernua), once abundant all over California's prairies, now dwells in relict areas in these hills.
^Sapphire flower (Eriastrum sp.) was still blooming in summer on the grassy hills.
Wind Project Start: Construction Yard
^Towers in line for trucking up the mountain.
^Electric cables in yard.
^Construction yard and new turbines going up.
^Huge rotor blades lie in the yard.
Traffic
^Truck traffic entering and leaving the yard along a public road.
New Wide Roads
^Over-sized loads must be carried on trucks into the hills, so dirt roads are made wide.
^This road filled in a creek crossing that had willows, to allow trucks. A drainage pipe was installed...
^...but willows were destroyed in the process.
^New roads all over the hills. Piles of gravel will be used to fill in muddy spots.
^Turbine foundation pad being leveled.
Large Foundation Pads
^Huge tower base lies next to a new pad, awaiting installation.
^Wide roads go to the ridge tops.
^Trencher to lay underground electric cable.
^Electric cable trenched into a ditch to the cement foundation for the turbine.
^Concrete pad.
Laying Electric Lines
^Cables trenched down the hill.
Tower Construction
^Tower section delivered on a flatbed truck.
^Tower section that will be lifted by cranes onto the cement pad.
^Cranes lift the wind turbine components into position.
^One tower has a nacelle attached, containing the gearbox and generator.
Finished Wind Farm
^Small substation to carry the electricity to the gird.
^Broken blade on a wind turbine.
HOME.....Granite Mountain Wind Project.....Searchlight Wind Project.....Spring Valley Wind
