The fits and starts for a wind energy project in the hills southwest of Lompoc arrived at an unexpected finish line when current operator BayWa obtained a letter from U.S. Fish & Wildlife on September 25 stating that the agency expected to issue a golden eagle take authorization to the Strauss Wind Energy Project by next March.
The death of eagles at the project site is expected among the 27 or so wind turbines standing 267 feet tall with blades the wingspan of a 747 jumbo jet, as the San Miguelito hills are known habitat for the federally protected species. In dealing with situations such as this, U.S. Fish & Wildlife may extend a permit under the federal Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act to set rules to protect the eagles, a process that was expected to take one to three years. Instead, "extenuating circumstances" prompted the federal agency to expedite its permit process. Already, the project operator BayWa was cooperating with Fish & Wildlife to add "refinements and proposed actions" to the application, placing the applicant "on a trajectory toward receiving an ETP" — Eagle Take Permit — "barring unforeseen circumstances," the letter stated.
Because the one- to three-year permit process would have delayed the startup of the clean energy source, the County Planning Commission had written findings that emulated the federal take rules as conditions for BayWa to follow. The company was allowed to proceed with the project as long as it was pursuing the federal application. The Coalition for Labor, Agriculture, and Business challenged that work-around, with the appeal set to be heard before the Board of Supervisors this morning.