A wind farm has been proposed for Bear River Ridge and Monument Ridge near Scotia by Terra Gen, a San Diego-based renewable energy company formed in 2007. It specializes in the development, construction, and operation of utility-scale wind, solar, energy storage, and geothermal generation facilities and is owned by Energy Capital Partners, a private equity firm focused on investing in North American energy infrastructure, which acquired Terra-Gen in 2015.

Terra-Gen proposes erecting up to 60 wind turbines, each up to nearly 600 feet tall on private land owned by area ranchers and the Humboldt Redwood Company in a project called Humboldt Wind LLC. The project could generate up to 155 megawatts of renewable energy, enough to power nearly 40,000 homes, according to developers. The power would be carried 15 miles through mostly above-ground lines to connect to the Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) grid at Bridgeville.

Many people and organizations have weighed in over the past year that the project has been in development and under discussion. Some support it for providing advantages like up to initial construction jobs and fewer long-term positions after completion; tax benefits to the county (where it would be second only to PG&E in the tax revenue it would provide); and the advantages of renewable energy at a time when much attention is being paid to climate change.

Others cite feared destruction to the area, from the creation of needed roads to serve the project, from the deaths of birds caused by the turbines, and from the effect on the viewscape the turbines could cause, as well as possible noise and lighting impacts on area residents. The importance of this area to the Yurok people, and the number of unknowns that exist as the project moves ahead with regard to possible environmental harm, are other concerns.

The plan has been followed carefully in many area media outlets. Here is a summary of information by the Humboldt County Planning and Building department: https://humboldtgov.org/2408/Humboldt-Wind-Energy-Project.

The Rio Dell City Council opposes the project, with a letter you can read here: (Letter by Rio Dell City Council)

The Town of Scotia opposes the project, read its response here: (Letter by Town of Scotia)