NEIGHBORS OPPOSE WIND FARM 400-FOOT-TALL TURBINES WOULD SPOIL RIDGELINE, CRITICS SAY.

Byline: Charles F. Bostwick Staff Writer

ACTON - A proposal to install wind turbines nearly 400 feet tall atop a wind-swept mountain ridge between Acton and Palmdale is drawing criticism from Acton residents.

Houston-based Superior Renewable Energy proposes creating a wind-energy farm of 17 to 20 wind turbines along a two-mile stretch of Sierra Pelona ridge, feeding the electricity they produce into high-power lines that cross the nearby ridge.

But the first public airing of the plan Monday night before the Acton Town Council drew quick objections about the towers' appearance and about possible noise and vibrations affecting the nearest homes.

``I didn't move here for that, and I don't think anybody did,'' Town Council member Ray Garwacki said.

While the Tehachapi Mountains contain numerous windmills dating back to the 1980s, this project would be the first commercial wind farm in the Los Angeles County portion of the Antelope Valley.

The proposed Sierra Pelona turbines could each generate 1.8 to 3 megawatts - a megawatt is enough power for 1,000 homes - much more than the older Tehachapi windmills.

Sierra Pelona is prime place for a wind farm because of the high winds there, an average speed topping 19 mph, Superior Renewable Energy representative John Calaway said. The company is developing other wind farms in San Diego County, New Mexico, Texas, Hawaii and South Dakota, he said.

But Acton residents who attended the meeting said the turbines would be a quarter-mile from the closest homes and would ruin the view of the ridge.

``You are dealing with a community that wouldn't even allow a grocery store to come in,'' Acton resident Ruthie Brock said, referring to the 2001 campaign that derailed Albertsons' plans to open an Acton supermarket. ``We are concerned, as residents, as to the aesthetics of our ridgeline.''

One man derided the turbines - which would be about 230 feet tall at the hub and about 390 feet tall at the top of the blades - as ``30-story kinetic sculptures.''

Acton resident William Davis, who works for wind-turbine manufacturer Mitsubishi in Los Angeles and raises horses in Acton, said low-frequency vibrations have been identified as a problem for people and livestock near large wind turbines.

``We would never situate a project this close to a (community),'' Davis said of his employer.

Calaway said the wind that turns turbines is noisier than the turbines and that cattle graze up to the bases of turbines in other areas.

``If everybody takes the attitude 'not in my back yard,' all the good resources anywhere near populated areas are not going to get built,'' Calaway said.

Palmdale City Councilman Steve Hofbauer, who attended the Acton meeting, said Palmdale officials also are concerned about the view from the northern side of the ridge.

``We worked really hard to prevent development on the ridgelines,'' Hofbauer said. ``It sounds like that's all irrelevant at this point.''

Hofbauer noted that the city filed a lawsuit last year in unsuccessful opposition to the Palmdale Water District's plan to erect a 230-foot-tall wind turbine at its water treatment plant.

City officials said the turbine would ruin views of the Antelope Valley, particularly for people entering from the south. Water officials said they doubted that their turbines would have a dramatic impact on the view.

The Sierra Pelona turbines are proposed on land under the jurisdiction of Los Angeles County officials. The proposal will require public hearings before the county Regional Planning Commission, but no dates have yet been set.

As an initial step, Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich asked Superior Renewable Energy representatives to outline company plans before Palmdale officials and the Acton, Leona Valley and Lake Hughes town councils, Antonovich aide Norm Hickling said.

The Acton Town Council is expected next month to take a formal vote on the proposal, though its stance will only be advisory to county officials.

``Obviously, renewable energy is a good thing, but the supervisor is going to take into account and listen to the community, whatever they feel about it,'' Hickling said.

Charles F. Bostwick, [phone]

chuck.bostwick(at)dailynews.com

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