PHOTO SOURCE: Dustin Henkelmann

In June 2021, Magic Valley Energy, a subsidiary of New York-based   LS Power Development, LLC, submitted a preliminary plan of development to the Bureau of Land Management to build a wind farm, known as Lava Ridge, twenty-five miles northeast of Twin Falls. The project would mainly consist of wind turbines and associated structures to manage them. The goal of the project is to create clean renewable wind energy using up to 400 wind turbines that would reach up to 740 feet and would span 197,474 acres.

“Through the National Environmental Policy Act, we have to evaluate the potential impacts associated with their proposal and identify any potential alternatives. The BLM would [then] either approve their application, approve their application with modifications, or deny their application” says Kasey Prestwitch, Project Manager of Lava Ridge, on the submission process of the proposal.

After the preliminary proposal was released, the public was encouraged to ask questions, give suggestions, and comment on the project, along with an open house being held on February 24th, 2023. There have been many adjustments to the proposal since it was first submitted in 2021, three years ago.

“We reached out to initiate scoping. We heard from the public about some potential issues that we need to consider and evaluate. We use that information from the scoping process to identify the issues that we analyzed, identify alternatives, and prepare a [second] draft,” stated Prestwitch. 

“When we go out for scoping, that means we go out to the public and say ‘What do you think?’” Heather Tiel-Nelson, the Twin Falls District Public Affairs Specialist, explained. The second draft received approximately 11,000 comments. The comments were taken into consideration, and a final draft is being prepared. 

The majority of the public’s concerns and comments on the second draft had to do with impacts on the scenic quality of the Minidoka Internment Camp Historical Site, impacts on water quality, and impacts on wildlife habitats and migration corridors. 

“Affected farmers, ranchers, tribes, the Japanese American community and sportsmen have voiced legitimate objections,” Brad Little and Lt. Gov. Scott Bedke stated in a letter to Karen Kelleher, the BLM State Director, sent February 6th 2023. “As it stands today, the local community predominantly has not shown support for this development.”

The letter continued to state that the project contradicts “Idahoan values of land conservation and land recreational activities on the land, such as hunting, camping, and sports”.  

U.S. Senators Jim Risch and Mike Crapo and Representatives Mike Simpson and Russ Fulcher, all of which are conservatives, are also actively against the project, and have introduced a “Don’t Develop Obstructive Infrastructure on our Terrain Act”. While the act is not specifically against the Lava Ridge Wind Project, it does state that the U.S. The Secretary of the Interior would have to deny any wind or solar energy project proposed on public land that is disapproved of by the State Legislature. Additionally, a Facebook group named Stop Lava Ridge currently has 8.6K members mostly from Southern Idaho, and is also promoting a stop to Lava Ridge.

When asked about the groups apposing Lava Ridge, Prestwich had this to say: “We look for any information that they can provide. They can say that they are opposed to the project and ‘this’ is why they are opposed to the project. We use that information to evaluate the project and in the end, it would inform the BLM’s decision on the application [to install the windmills].”

UPDATE: On Jun 6, 2024, the BLM issued a final environmental review of the Lava Ridge project. In the review a preferred alternative to the original plans of Magic Valley Energy was proposed, suggesting that the scope of the project be cut by 50%. The proposal seems to have been influenced by input from community members and other stakeholders.