On Tuesday, the county supervisors denied a permit to Element Power for wind energy towers.  That decision came after residents voiced their objections at the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisor’s meeting.

That same day, another wind energy company, Blue Sky Wind Energy Project / Next Era, decided to not pursue further its permit for towers in the Southwestern portion of Antelope Valley.

The Blue Sky project would have placed wind turbines generating 225 megawatts on a 7,500-acre site along the ridges of the Sierra Paloma and San Gabriel foothills.

It would have been the largest renewable energy project proposed for the Los Angeles County portion of the Valley. However, the project, like Element Power’s plan, was strongly opposed by residents of Elizabeth Lake and Lake Hughes.

Blue Sky’s announcement that they were pulling out of Antelope Valley and taking their energy producing projects elsewhere came in the form of a letter:

“Dear Antelope Valley Community Members and Interested Parties:

We are writing to let you know that apparently NextEra Energy Resources will not be pursuing the Met Tower permit for the Blue Sky project at this time.

We understand that the decision was made to focus its resources on wind projects throughout California and the nation that are further along in the permitting process.

The NextEra team firmly believes that the location for the proposed Blue Sky project is among the best in California, providing significant clean energy benefits to Californians.

The entire team appreciates the positive dialogue that has taken place between the team and the community. Further, the Blue Sky team is grateful for the significant support the projects received from local community members, the environmental community, and political leaders within the Antelope Valley and beyond. We know that this support will continue to increase.

We look forward to picking up our dialogue with the community in the near future as we proceed with this great clean energy project. Again, on behalf of the entire team, thank you for the support, encouragement and insight you’ve provided us.”

According to representatives of NextEra Energy, the Blue Sky project would have provided 200-300 jobs during the eight to twelve months of construction as well as permanent jobs afterward.

The company planned to spend $400 million building Blue Sky and over the 20-year life of the project, it would have resulted in $90 million in new tax revenue to the state. Blue Sky also would have provided $240 million to the local economy, new local sales tax and property tax revenues, workers’salaries, operations and maintenance, and land lease payments.