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Proposals to create thousands of megawatts of wind and solar capacity across the West are running into local opposition. The recurring theme: We need renewable energy—but not like this.
In Idaho, survivors and descendants of Japanese-Americans who were incarcerated at the Minidoka War Relocation Center during World War II organized a letter asking President Joe Biden to stop the proposed Lava Ridge wind project. The Bureau of Land Management's final environmental impact statement for the project reduced the size of the project by nearly half, to just over 100,000 acres of public land, and concentrated the turbines to corridors at least 9 miles away from Minidoka. E&E News reports that the coalition's letter asks President Biden for at least 20 miles of separation.
"We, in the Japanese American community, and our allies, feel our history is being devalued and our trauma is being dismissed by the government recognizing the impact of the project, yet continuing to proceed," the letter says.
Conflicts over proposed industrial-scale renewable development have also emerged in Nevada, where conservation groups warn that a 2,800 acre project would harm sage-grouse populations. In Colorado, a proposal to put a solar array on 640 acres of state land outside of Telluride ran into community opposition that united "Old West" ranchers and "New West" residents, according to the Colorado Sun.
Adrienne Dorsey with the nonprofit COSSA Institute, which works with solar developers, said the Colorado developers "thought that they were doing their due diligence, contacting county authorities … inadvertently they didn’t engage the community.” The institute encourages early communications between developers and communities to address conflicts before they emerge.
How an Instagram "joke" turned into an outdoor LGBTQ community
In the latest episode of CWP's podcast, The Landscape, Aaron and Kate talk to Dr. Hitesh Tolani, creator of the Gays of National Parks Instagram account, which is aimed at fostering community among LGBTQ people through a love of the outdoors. Tolani began the account as a joke in 2022, but it has since grown into a community with over 15,000 followers. Tolani talks about how the group is fostering connection both online and in person, as well as why representation in the outdoors and park leadership matters. Listen now or subscribe on Apple Podcasts.
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We support thoughtfully sited clean energy, but this is the wrong project in the wrong place.”
