What the Defeat of a Wind Energy Project Means for Harry Reid’s Hometown
Grassroots conservationists and property rights activists in Nevada stand poised to secure an unprecedented legal victory over government-backed wind energy proponents that could reverberate across state lines.
If they prevail, they will have handed a rare defeat to the U.S. Senate’s top Democrat, Harry Reid, in his hometown.
A federal District Court judge ruled against the development of an 87-turbine, 200-megawatt wind farm in tiny Searchlight, Nev., and the company behind the project joined with the U.S. Interior Department to file an appeal.
The case, which now sits before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, could stretch out for at least another year.
Even so, the Searchlight Wind Energy Project, as it is officially known, appears to be stalled permanently.
If the court decision in October had gone the other way, it would have provided the federal government with the legal “right-of-way” to press ahead with installing wind turbines that would cut across almost 19,000 acres of public lands.
“For at least the time being, the District Court ruling means that people in Searchlight can continue to enjoy the spectacular mountain views they presently have, and can avoid the dust storms that follow when large areas of the desert are stripped …read more