BLM to hold public meetings on proposed wind farm near Searchlight

A sign marks the state line on a dirt road west of Searchlight on Nov. 25, 2017. A wind farm with as many as 220 40-story turbines has been proposed on the Nevada side of the line. Henry Brean Las Vegas Review-Journal

The Bureau of Land Management will hold a series of public scoping meetings next month on a proposed wind farm that could bring as many as 220 skyscraper-sized turbines to the desert 10 miles west of Searchlight.

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The Crescent Peak Wind Energy Project would be built in phases along a 22-mile stretch of the Nevada-California border, with turbines at least 400 feet tall clustered on more than 32,500 acres of public land directly adjacent to Mojave National Preserve, Castle Mountains National Monument and the Wee Thump Joshua Tree Wilderness.

The BLM has agreed to conduct an environmental review of the project. The purpose of the upcoming public meetings is to gather input on what should be addressed in the review.

The scoping meetings will be held:

— April 9 at the Searchlight Community Center, 200 Michael Wendell Way, in Searchlight.

— April 10 at Palo Verde College, 725 W. Broadway St., in Needles, California.

— April 11 in the Centennial Room at Santa Fe Station, 4949 N. Rancho Drive, in Las Vegas.

— April 12 at the Henderson Convention Center, 200 S. Water St., in Henderson.

Each meeting will run 5 to 8 p.m. and include a presentation on the project, an open house with BLM staffers and project backers, and a public hearing for anyone wanting to offer input. A court reporter also will be available at the meetings to record comments.

The BLM also will accept written comments through June 13.

Comments may be sent by email to blm_nv_sndo_crescentpeak@blm.gov, faxed to 702-515-5023 or mailed to: BLM, Southern Nevada District, Field Manager, 4701 N. Torrey Pines Drive, Las Vegas, NV, 89130.

More information about the project can be found on the BLM’s planning website at https://go.usa.gov/xnbwe.

The wind farm with a capacity of up to 500 megawatts is being developed by Sweden-based energy company Eolus through its subsidiary, Crescent Peak Renewables.

Contact Henry Brean at hbrean@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0350. Follow @RefriedBrean on Twitter.