The State : Wind Farm Plan Attacked

A plan to harvest energy by building Los Angeles County’s first wind farm on 270 acres of hilly ranch land near Gorman has drawn strong opposition from residents and environmentalists who claim it will bring visual blight to the scenic, pristine area. Opponents say the proposed 458 windmills, many as tall as 150 feet, will lower property values, destroy a wildflower area that attracts sightseers in the spring and endanger birds that might fly into the whirling turbines. “They’ll dominate everything there,” said resident Susan Hulsizer, a member of the Save the Mountain Committee, a group formed to stop the project. But the developer, Tehachapi-based Zond Systems, the state’s largest producer of wind energy, claims the company is just as environmentally conscious as its opponents. Zond President James Dehlsen said the wind farm will reduce pollution in the entire region, while producing a much-needed alternative energy source. Zond also operates 1,900 turbines on wind farms in Tehachapi, Palm Springs and in the Altamont Pass area near San Francisco.