A couple of days ago I mentioned that language being worked on behind the scenes (as described in this N & O article) to weaken the Ridge Law could possible be worse than the original proposed change to the Ridge Law in SB 1068.
After reading the language in SB 1068 and comparing it to what was reportedly being worked on, the opposite is true. The earlier versions of SB 1068 would have exempted the following from the Ridge Law:
“windmills, including wind turbines for the generation of electricity having less than 100 kilowatts rated capacity, cumulatively with any other turbines within one‑half mile, and wind turbines of 100 kilowatts capacity and above, cumulatively with any other turbines within one‑half mile, to the extent allowed by a city or county ordinance regulating the siting of wind turbines.”
This language would allow commercial-scale wind turbines that provide electricity on the grid. We would have to subsidize this wind power and the effect that the wind turbines would have in the mountains.
The language being worked on (as described in the article) would still weaken the Ridge Law but limit the wind turbines to those used for personal use only. Even that major change to the Ridge Law wouldn’t be good enough for the environmental extremists.
