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MIT lab to assess wind farm radar risks

The Columbian
Published: April 17, 2010, 12:00am

FOSSIL, Ore. (AP) — The Defense Department says it has asked radar experts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Lincoln Laboratory to investigate whether a huge wind farm planned for northcentral Oregon would interfere with signals from a radar station located at Fossil, Ore.

But the study announced Friday will take as long as 60 days. That will extend long past the planned May 1 groundbreaking date for the Shepherds Flat project. Les Gelber is a partner with Caithness Energy, the wind farm’s developer. He says this is a delay the project can’t tolerate.

The Oregonian says Caithness is working with Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley as well as White House officials to try to push for a quicker solution.

Gelber says the lab study should have been started three years ago when the company first talked with the Air Force about the project.

The Federal Aviation Administration, with Air Force backing, issued a notice in March that effectively bars wind turbine construction at the site.

The Shepherds Flat project plans 338 turbines and would produce 845 megawatts of capacity.

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Information from: The Oregonian, http://www.oregonlive.com

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