Despite fluctuations in the economy renewable energy continues to grow, albeit not as quickly as some may like. The United States government has indicated in recent months that they will be increasing the speed in which they approve or deny proposed projects. However, it was assured that thoroughness would not be neglected in order to increase approval speed.
A project which was approved before this assurance is one located thirty miles outside the town of Ely, Nevada. The project, Spring Valley Wind, has been accused of being fast-tracked by the government without proper environmental assessments performed. Three separate Native American tribes, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Western Watersheds Project have sued due to the fast-tracking believed to have occurred by the Bureau of Land Management.
The Bureau of Land Management does in fact own the land the Spring Valley Wind project is expected to be built upon, an 8,565 acre area. The request for stalling the project was not approved by U.S. courts, however, the decision has been appealed. Despite the on-going appeal, the Spring Valley Wind project is continuing.
On Friday, the groundbreaking ceremony was held to begin construction outside Ely, Nevada. Without future legal issues the wind farm is expected to be completed within the next year. The farm will contain sixty-six turbines and will generate approximately 150 megawatts of energy.
The ongoing legal battle is largely over concerns regarding Brazilian free-tailed bats. This species of bats uses the Ely, Nevada region during the yearly fall migration for the species. Concerns are that more than one million bats will be potentially harmed by the wind turbines. Officials at the wind farm have indicated that they have measures to shut down the turbines in order to prevent issues.
