November 16, 2005. After years of “shooting the breeze,” advocates of wind energy may be ready to see if Modoc County's North Warner Mountains can be an energy producer.
Horizon Wind Energy of Houston and Berkeley is seeking a U.S. permit to install and maintain 10 meteorological towers for up to three years.
Harnessing the North Warners for wind energy has been discussed for a quarter century.
In 1980, the California Energy Commission issued a report that said there is enough of a “wind resource” in the North Warners to merit more study.
Now it's time for further study. The Warners will be tested to see if the wind is strong enough.
Brenda LeMay, Horizon's California development director, said the North Warners project is one of many.
“In an effort to support California's Renewable Portfolio Standard, 20 percent renewable energy by the year 2017, Horizon Wind Energy is installing meteorological towers in various locations in California in order to better understand the wind resource throughout the state,” LeMay said.
Dan Meza, a Modoc National Forest spokesman, said the towers would be along the crest of the North Warners on the Warner Mountain Ranger District. The monitoring project area is eight miles north of Highway 299-Cedar Pass and 15 miles north of the South Warner Wilderness Area's south boundary.
Meza said the towers would gather wind data and conduct wind energy site testing.
“There is no proposal for a wind farm. This is just a proposed permit for up to 10 monitoring towers,” Meza said.
An amended application and plan of development are required for review, analysis and separate approval of any proposed wind energy development.
The Horizon Web site outlines step-by-step procedures for developing a wind farm. The first is “find a windy site” while step nine is to “watch the wind” by establishing monitoring sites.
The Web site lists step 13, “sell the electricity,” as “the Holy Grail in our business. Because of the huge up-front cost, projects are feasible only after a customer, such as a large utility, has committed to a long-term energy purchase of 10 to 20 years ... Like just about all other wind energy companies, we cannot build our projects until we find a customer.”
Based on the Web site, the cost of constructing a wind power plant is about $1 million per megawatt.
Meza said the proposed towers would be 164 feet tall and be made of multiple thin walled tubes slip-fitted together and supported by guy wires.
Guy wires would extend from the tower to eight soil anchors. The tower would be set on a steel base placed directly on the ground surface. A crew of three or four people can install and remove a tower in one or two days. The towers operate on 9- or 12-volt batteries. The entire tower and related equipment fit in the bed of a standard pickup truck.
No heavy equipment is used in the installation, maintenance or removal of the towers.
The towers would hold anemometers, vanes, temperature sensor, data logger, lightning rod and grounding wires. The effective life of the tower is more than five years.
Meza said Forest Service specialists will analyze the proposed project for impacts on wildlife, visibility, heritage and cultural resources, botany, culture and the economy.
Results of the data collection will be evaluated to identify concerns and develop resource protection measures within and adjacent to the project area.
More information is available at the Warner Mountain Ranger District Office, 385 Wallace Street, Cedarville CA 96104; the Modoc National Forest Supervisor's Office, 800 West 12th St., Alturas CA 96101; or by contacting Jayne Biggerstaff, special uses coordinator, at (530) 233-8740 or email at jbiggerstaff@fs.fed.us.
Information about Horizon Wind Energy, wind testing and development is available at www.horizonwind.com.
