Ill winds now blow through the DWP in Los Angeles as a deal to buy land for a giant wind farm hit the rocks. According to an article in the Los Angeles Times, a friend of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa outmaneuvered DWP on the purchase of the 68,000 acre Onyx Ranch east of Bakersfield.dwp_la_times

It’s unclear how LADWP’s attempt to generate green power might impact the Eastern Sierra other than electricity rates in the Owens Valley.

Mayor Villaraigosa vowed that 20% of DWP’s power would come from renewable sources by 2010. Time is running out and apparently so are DWP’s options.

David Freeman, who once headed DWP now works as a Deputy Mayor in charge of the environment. Freeman had earlier said he wants to see solar panels on the Owens Dry Lake – to keep dust down and to generate electricity.

Without the big Onyx Ranch for a wind farm, DWP might turn to an eminent domain proceeding in court or look for more wind swept, open land.

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