Sen. Risch sends message on Lava Ridge - KMVT

Sen. Risch sends message on Lava Ridge

TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) —According to a press release from his office, During a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing, U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho) questioned Interior Secretary Deb Haaland on the highly controversial and widely opposed Lava Ridge Wind Energy Project being proposed on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land in Idaho.

“I’m going to focus on one thing today. One thing, and one thing only: the Lava Ridge Wind Turbine Project in Idaho,” Risch said.

Risch provided Sec. Haaland with a summary, including the size of the project: 146,000 acres and 370 turbines, the smallest being taller than the Statue of Liberty and the largest towering more than 100 feet over the Seattle Space Needle.

Upon hearing the secretary say, " We listen to people. We get their input,” Risch outlined the substantial list of critics who have said “don’t do it” regarding the project, including:

- Idaho BLM’s Resource Advisory Council;
- The bipartisan Idaho legislature;
- Seven Idaho counties in the surrounding area;
- The Friends of Minidoka;
- The broader Japanese-American community;
- Senator Risch, Governor Little, Lieutenant Governor Bedke, and the entire Idaho delegation; and
- Thousands of everyday Idahoans.

“Your council. You know what they said unanimously about this, ‘Don’t do it.’ We have a legislature in Idaho, Republicans and Democrats; they passed a resolution in both the House and the Senate unanimously, you know what they said [don’t do it],” Risch said.

Sen. Risch emphasized the significance of the Minidoka National Historic Site and how the Lava Ridge project would drastically impair the site’s surrounding landscape.

Risch said, “It was one of the detention sites during World War Two for Japanese people, of which we have a significant population in Idaho. This land means a lot to them.”

Risch concluded that renewable energy already accounts for 75% of Idaho’s in-state electricity generation. Additionally, there are clean energy alternatives, like small modular reactors, that would provide similar amounts of energy without impeding on a historical site and taking up less than 1% of the space.

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