By Barry Eberling | DAILY REPUBLIC | July 15, 2009
Sacramento Municipal Utility District will talk with the county planning commission Thursday about building 84 wind turbines in the Montezuma Hills. Photo by Brad Zweerink
FAIRFIELD - A push by the Sacramento Municipal Utility District to build up to 84 massive, electricity generating wind turbines in Solano County's Montezuma Hills is regaining momentum.
The project's pace slowed after 2007 amid concerns that spinning turbines could cause planes to drop off the Travis Air Force Base radar. Now the project's environmental impact report could go before the SMUD Board of Directors in September.
First, though, SMUD officials will make a presentation to the Solano County Planning Commission tonight. Commissioners meet at 7 p.m. at the county Government Center, 675 Texas St.
Solano County has no veto power over a SMUD project. Utility spokeswoman Dace Udris called the presentation a 'courtesy meeting.'
SMUD owns 6,345 acres in the Montezuma Hills and already has built 52 turbines, some with towers as tall as the Statue of Liberty.
A November 2007 letter by Col. Giovanni Tuck of Travis Air Force Base brought up issues that helped stall an environmental impact report originally targeted to be approved in December 2007. Tuck mentioned the radar issues.Everything Solano... Find It Here.
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'Ultimately, these safety concerns affect not only Air Force aircraft and crews, but the general flying pubic as well, as 75 percent to 85 percent of the air traffic in the Travis (Air Force Base) coverage area is civilian and smaller planes are more susceptible than large military aircraft to some of the radar issues that result from the wind turbines,' Tuck wrote.
Tuck requested that SMUD wait until Travis installed a digital radar system in late 2008 before moving forward.
Udris said SMUD put the environmental impact report on hold for 18 months. The Federal Aviation Administration has since looked at the matter.
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