The developers behind the Fountain Wind Project were making one last effort to get the project approved through a new state process meant to speed up renewable energy permitting.
But commission members voted unanimously to deny the project, following a recommendation from their staff.
During the energy commission meeting on Friday, Chair David Hochschild said fighting climate change and promoting renewable energy are their primary goals.
“But it doesn’t mean these facilities get installed in every place, everywhere,” he said. “There’s a lot to measure and balance.”
The wind farm was previously denied by the Shasta County Planning Commission and the county board of supervisors. They argued that it would harm tribal resources and endangered species. It would also make it more difficult to fight wildfires. The county even launched a marketing campaign to get the project killed.
“Not only was the project denied moving forward, but the hazards raised during the assessment of the project resulted in passage of a local ordinance prohibiting large wind energy systems in the unincorporated areas of Shasta County,” said Shasta County Supervisor Chris Kelstrom, who came down to Sacramento for the meeting.
The county also found allies in nearby tribes, including the Redding Rancheria and the Pitt River Tribe, who argued the facility would damage cultural resources.
“California, being the fourth largest economy in the world, also needs to stop allowing these projects to target socio economically suppressed communities who don't have the resources to fight these bad projects,” said Brandy McDaniels, a member of the Pitt River Tribe.
Energy Commission members stressed that this was a tough decision to make. State laws require that 100 percent of electricity sales come from renewable energy sources by 2045. So the state needs as much wind power as it can get. But the drawbacks and opposition to this project outweighed the benefits it would provide.
The Fountain Wind Project was the first one proposed under the state’s new streamlined permitting process, called the Opt-In Certification Program. Only one project has been approved so far, a solar farm outside Fresno. Now, the Fountain Wind Project becomes the first to be denied by the Energy Commission.
