SIERRA DE JUAREZ WIND PROJECT UNDERWAY SOUTH OF THE BORDER
By Miriam Raftery
Photo by Wayne Brammer: project viewed from the In-Ko-Pah/Jacumba area in East County
October 4, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) – Wind turbines are rising just south of the border as construction commences on the Sierra de Juarez wind energy facility in Baja California. The 47 turbines in this phase of the Innova Energy project are projected to generate 157 megawatts of power that will be sold to San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) to meet our region’s energy needs.
Power from the project will be transmitted via a cross-border transmission line to the ECO-Substation at Jacumba in San Diego’s East County.
Reve, a renewable energy publication in Mexico, reports that the area from Tecate to Ensenada has “enormous potential” for wind energy generation that is just beginning to develop.
The project also raises environmental issues, including destruction of chaparral habitat and potential danger to birds from turbines on ridgelines extending for many miles.
In addition, light, noise and infrasound from the turbines could potentially prove disruptive to residents on both sides of the border.
Read more about the project, which local citizens' groups have sued in an effort to block, at
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/jul/22/partnership-moves-wind-farm-forward/