Turbine Blades Are Back In Newberry Springs Almost

Community Alliance stock photo of a blade truck on National Trails just north of Interstate-40.  Coming off of Pioneer Road from the adjacent railway siding transfer yard onto National Trails, the trucks are so long that they cannot make the right-hand turn from National Trails onto the I-40 westbound onramp.  The truck pictured on National Trails is backing-down National Trails to make a left turn onto the onramp.

Rogue company is now acting legitimate.

September 28, 2013

      The first train carrying wind turbine blades to a transload site in Newberry Springs arrived July 16, 2011; it carried 42 blades.  The Siemens manufactured blades originated in Ft. Madison, Iowa.

      The initial blades that were being directed through Newberry Springs were reported destined to a distribution site in Livermore, California.

      More rail shipments of blades and associated turbines continued in 2011 until the shipping order ran out.  The shipping company, Energy Transportation, Inc. of Casper, Wyoming then abandoned Newberry Springs.

      The Community Alliance has not been happy with Energy Transportation.  Their previous operation included a considerable amount of grading to prepare the transload rail site, just west of the Elementis Specialities plant.  Energy Transportation's arrival into Newberry, the grading, the entire operation, was done without any contact with the community.

      Some of the grading created bellowing clouds of disturbed particles; water later acquired to mitigate the problem was not adequate.

      Energy Transportation has acted with callous disregard and contempt towards regulations that protect our community and environment.

      Now, after about a year and a half of having pulled-out of Newberry, the company has filed an application with San Bernardino county for a "Temporary Use Permit to store wind farm equipment, including 110 blades approximately 168 feet in length, generators, hubs & convers for energy generation facility before being transferred to Kern County" at their old Newberry Springs site.

      This proposed operation does impact Newberry Springs' fragile roads, railway grade crossings, and potential disturbance of off-hour operations.  The Community Alliance understands from First District Supervisor Lovingood's office that the Planning Department will notify the Newberry CSD of such project applications when they are received by the county.  According to Newberry CSD's staff, such notification of this project has not been made to them.  They were unaware of it.

      Photo from an earlier Blotter story in 2011 shows the first wind blade from Newberry Springs being loaded onto a truck as a westbound freight train passes.

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      Public Comments: The applicaton for parcel number 0531-051-06 has been established under the county's Land Use Services' Planning Department as project number P201300353/TUP: Applicant: Energy Transportation, Inc.  Under public notice on the proposal, public comments must be received by Planning no later than October 2, 2013 to be sure that they will be included in the final project decision.  Public comments however will be taken up to the time of the project decision.  Comments should be directed to: Nina Shabazz, Planner at (760) 995-8153, or e-mail Nina.Shabazz@lus.sbcounty.gov, or FAX (760) 995-8167, or Land Use Services, Planning Department, 15900 Smoke Tree Street, Hesperia, CA 92345.

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