How CFACT's 'Conservation Country' Series Brought Down Lava Ridge Wind Project
My videographer & I first broke this story in January 2023.
On August 6th, the Trump administration announced the termination of the controversial Biden-era onshore wind project known as Lava Ridge.
Lava Ridge, had it proceeded, was slated to be the largest onshore wind project constructed in the U.S. Idaho’s Magic Valley would have been severely altered - for the worse - had the Trump administration not intervened.
My videographer Madison Hughes and I, through our CFACT original series “Conservation Country,” first brought national attention to this project when few knew about it. We traveled to Idaho’s Magic Valley in the southeastern portion of the state in August 2022. Our final report was published in January 2023.
Proposed Wind Project Would Devastate Idaho's Magic Valley
Welcome to 2023! This is the first of many dispatches I’ll be sharing this year.
Here are the concerns highlighted in our report:
The intermittent nature of onshore wind power
How Lava Ridge’s “generated” electricity would have been shipped to California and Nevada
Negative environmental tradeoffs to birds and wildlife
Threats construction posed to the largest underwater aquifer
Lava Ridge’s proximity to the Minidoka Japanese Internment camp site
And more
I offered my insight into the project further at Townhall.com then, writing:
The Lava Ridge Wind Project, if approved, would comprise 400 turbines across 73,000 acres of BLM lands spanning Jerome, Lincoln and Minidoka counties. Individual turbines could stand as tall as 740 feet. Magic Valley Energy - a subsidiary of the New York-based LS Power–is propping this project up. They claim it’ll generate 1,000 megawatts of power and commence operation as early as 2025. LS Power also has plans for an additional 300 wind turbines near Lava Ridge: the Salmon Falls Wind Project.
But do Magic Valley residents support Lava Ridge as the White House does? The support is hardly there.
I traveled to the region last August for my CFACT “Conservation Country” video series to interview locals about their opposition to Lava Ridge.
Why does the Biden administration want this particular wind project built? Why the urgency? This site would help the administration “meet” their goal of supplying “25 gigawatts of onshore renewable energy by 2025” and achieve “100% clean electricity by 2035 and a net-zero-emissions economy by 2050.” Unsurprisingly, this boondoggle is expected to be subsidized by renewable tax credits contained in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
Shortly after our January 2nd, 2023 release, Fox News host Jesse Watters picked up our report and interviewed Dean Dimond, a local farmer we prominently featured, to express his opposition to Lava Ridge. Dean, hands down, was instrumental in defeating Lava Ridge.
Here’s the timeline of events leading up to last week’s cancellation:
August 2022: CFACT Conservation Country team films Lava Ridge investigative project.
January 2023: Our CFACT video report is published and exclusively promoted on Fox News.
March 2023: The Idaho legislature voted in support of a “no build” resolution, H.R. 4, in March 2023.
October 2023: Idaho’s Congressional delegation - led by Senator Crapo (R-ID) - introduces a bill to stop the project.
December 2024: The Biden administration approves Lava Ridge Wind Project.
January 2025: The Trump administration issues an executive order suspending new onshore and offshore wind projects—including Lava Ridge.
August 6th, 2025: The Trump administration, led by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, officially terminates Lava Ridge Wind Project.
Never did I imagine our report to have wide-reaching effects, from changing policy to full termination. I’m very proud our team took this story early on. I’m grateful to all the Idahoans who confided in us to tell their story. They’re the real heroes here.
Lava Ridge wasn’t the only problematic clean energy project out there. Dozens more still need sunlight and exposure. This database on project cancellations shows how unpopular these unreliable, green-backed energy projects are.
What should Madison and I investigate next in “Conservation Country”? We are looking to spotlight conflicts with gray wolves, sage grouse, and other land use projects. If you like our results, I hope you can pledge support for our series.
We are soon relaunching the series under this new name. Catch up on past episodes HERE.
To everyone who shared and promoted our Lava Ridge report: THANK YOU! It’s incredible to see how far-reaching this video was. It goes to show anyone can be a positive change-maker.
Thank you for reading! Let me know your thoughts and encourage your friends to subscribe to the newsletter too.
—Gabriella
good morning, sunshine. one down - how many to go? probably many, but start with Chokecherry. That project is an abomination. A slap to the face of common sense, responsible resource spending, and fundamental environmental values.
The Lava Ridge Project is, in some ways, similar to Yucca Mountain. Both failed because they did not achieve public support. reminds me of Lincoln: "In this age, in this country, public sentiment is everything. With it, nothing can fail; against it, nothing can succeed. Whoever molds public sentiment goes deeper than he who enacts statutes, or pronounces judicial decisions."