Judge Dismisses Suit Over Wind Farm

Anne Mudge, co-chair of the Renewable Energy and Climate Change practice group, was quoted in a June 15, 2012 article in the Daily Journal about a lawsuit filed by wind energy project developer over  another nearby wind project.

U.S. District Court Judge Manuel L. Real dismissed the suit filed by Whitewater Energy Corp. and others, claiming that the City of Palm Springs violated their due process rights by not properly publicizing the fact that another developer was trying to get approval for upgrades to their nearby wind project, which had the potential to affect wind flow.

Mudge told the paper that “Wake Effect,” which results from wind turbines slowing air currents and energy available to projects downstream, is becoming more of an issue as areas become populated with wind energy projects.

"There have been lawsuits filed in the past on these issues," she said. "Sometimes, developers who are claiming that they're damaged by an upwind project try to use [the California Environmental Quality Act] as leverage for saying the environmental review should have covered the wake effect as an impact."

Mudge said companies really have no recourse under the law. "It's like a view - if someone builds a building in front of your view [you have no recourse]," she said.