Hood River News Interview

The May 5th, 2010 edition of the Hood River News contained a front page article entitled "Citizen groups move to stop wind farm." The article contained portions of an interview with Gorge Forum spokesperson Nilsa Zeman.

Here is the full text of that interview.

Hood River News: Why did you decide to pursue the initiative?

Gorge Forum: The total cost of the proposed wind farm is $24 million dollars. That is twice the entire annual budget of the county and equates to $1000 per man, woman and child. Also the size of the turbines being proposed is 330 feet. That is equivalent to a 30 story skyscraper and actually taller than the Statue of Liberty. Obviously, the public should have a say on whether or not to go ahead with a project of this magnitude. The voice of the people will be heard through their yes or no vote on the initiative.

Hood River News: Why did you set a height limit in the ballot measure on the allowable turbines instead of prohibiting them altogether?

Gorge Forum: The two major problems with the Middle Mountain Wind Farm proposal are the financial impact and the environmental impact. It is the massive scale of the project which makes the magnitude of both of those impacts so damaging and warrants a public vote.

What we are opposed to is hard-earned tax dollars being wasted on huge "feel good" projects which turn out to be massive boondoggles. We simply wish to prevent the county from building massive industrial scale wind turbines which seriously damage the scenic integrity of the area and are so costly that they could end up bankrupting the county.

Hood River News: Are you opposed to the wind turbines personally and, if so, why?

Gorge Forum: No. If a citizen wishes to spend their own money on a personal scale wind turbine I have no problem with that.

Hood River News: How do you anticipate the vote going in September?

Gorge Forum: We are taking this process one step at a time. Right now our priority is gathering enough signatures to see that the initiative makes it to the ballot. It is very important that anyone who feels strongly about protecting the financial as well as environmental integrity of Hood River County signs the initiative so it can be added to the ballot. Locations for signing the initiative are listed at www.GorgeForum.org.

Hood River News: Do you have any concerns about the way the county has proceeded with the wind turbine plan and, if so, what are they?

Gorge Forum: Some of the statements made by some of the commissioners in support of the project are just plain wrong.

The main argument stated in favor of the turbines is that they will eventually generate revenue for the county. Any cursory glance at the true economics behind wind power shows that it is not remotely economically viable. Of course the turbine manufactures get their money up front and stand to make huge profits and therefore tend to greatly exaggerate their benefits. However, every truly independent economic analysis proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that any attempt to profit from wind power with today's technology is doomed to fail.

The other main argument in favor of the turbines is they will protect the environment. However, due to the intermittent nature of wind, it is impossible to rely on wind turbines as a reliable source of usable power. As a result, not a single traditional power plant has ever been replaced by a wind farm.

The sad fact is that this is simply a ridiculously expensive "feel good project" which will do nothing to protect the environment.