Wind Power News: Utah
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They are the products of the organizations or individuals noted and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch.
BPA proposes plan to pay wind developers to reduce power when rivers high
The Bonneville Power Administration today proposed paying wind energy developers for reducing output to help balance the electricity supply during high river flows. If BPA decides to proceed with the compensation proposal, it would seek to split the cost equally between customers including electrical cooperatives and public utilities like Idaho Falls Power, and wind developers. BPA is releasing its proposal for public review now so the agency can meet a March 6 deadline for filing the proposal with the Federal . . .
BPA offers to split costs when it pulls the plug on wind farms
The Bonneville Power Administration has proposed to cover half the cost of wind farms’ lost revenue when it shuts off their output because there is too much hydropower already being generated in the region. Renewables advocates said Tuesday that the approach is unacceptable. The cost-sharing proposal is the latest bid to end a dispute that began this spring, when the federal power marketing agency accommodated the massive spring runoff and resulting surge in power production by cutting off wind farms . . .
Wind energy firm declares bankruptcy
An anticipated multi-million dollar investment in wind energy infrastructure in northern San Juan County has been put on hold, possibly indefinitely. As recently as November, 2011, officials were hopeful that a major project could be completed as soon as the end of 2012. However, a bankruptcy filing and concerns about the financial viability of the project have put everything on hold. Renewable Energy Development Corporation (Redco) filed for Chapter Seven bankruptcy on December 30, 2011 in the US District Bankruptcy . . .
BPA reworking process for planning transmission lines
Renewable energy developments in the Northwest may soon benefit from more flexibility in the transmission planning process. The past several years have been marked by an increase of wind power developments, partially because of laws requiring utilities to add renewable energy to their portfolios. The Bonneville Power Administration, which controls three-quarters of the Northwest’s high-voltage transmission lines, has been working to figure out how to prepare for the new wind power. But not all of the projects that generated transmission . . .
Picking losers
The Department of Energy, acting under authority provided in the stimulus package of February 2009, may try to push through up to $5 billion in loan guarantees to green energy projects before month’s end (i.e., in the next 48 hours). This same program loaned Solyndra $535 million before the company eventually filed for bankruptcy. Given the Solyndra debacle and other “investments” made through this program, officials and policymakers should pause and admit to the serious structural problems associated with government . . .
Feasibility of huge transmission line will be studied
A new development agreement has been inked to study the feasibility of a 725-mile transmission line that begins in Wyoming, traverses across Utah and ends in Nevada. The project by TransWest Express and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Western Area Power Administration proposes to tap wind energy in southeastern Wyoming and convey up to 3,000 megawatts of renewable power to the Marketplace Hub outside of Las Vegas. Under terms of the agreement, TransWest would kick in up to $25 million . . .
As wind power added, Kaysville rate hike likely
KAYSVILLE — Growth and more expensive sources of power are necessitating a look at raising rates, here. “Power operations have not covered operating costs for two or three years,” said City Manager John Thacker Monday. “We’ve been drawing down reserves and need to respond to that,” he said. “The current budget shows a shortfall of about $400,000,” said City Finance Director Dean Story. He noted that’s after “we made reductions where we think they were possible. “We feel like we . . .
Turbines on the horizon for Monticello
Wind turbines may be on the horizon for Monticello. Wasatch Wind, a Park City-based company that installed nine wind turbines at the mouth of Spanish Fork canyon, is assessing a site northwest of Monticello for a possible wind farm. A Wasatch Wind official took great pains to stress that the project is still in the assessment and concept phases, but acknowledged that the company is hopeful. At the current time, Wasatch Wind is considering a proposal that would place between . . .
Meetings planned for big transmission line project
ROOSEVELT — The first of six meetings in Utah to air details about a proposed 500-kilovolt transmission line will be at Union High School, 135 N. Union, on Tuesday. Rocky Mountain Power wants to construct and operate the line, which would provide a connection for the substation near Medicine Bow, in Carbon County, Wyo., to the Clover Substation near Mona, Utah. The distance of the line would be approximately 400 miles, depending on the route selected, and an estimated 1,500 . . .
PCMR secures permit for high-altitude wind turbine, solar array
Park City Mountain Resort has secured the approval it needed to build a wind turbine and solar array at the upper elevations of the resort, receiving praise from Park City leaders for its environmentalism as the permit was awarded. The Park City Planning Commission last Wednesday unanimously approved the permit on a 4-0 vote. Nobody testified during a hearing held prior to the vote. The PCMR proposal had not received wide publicity until the beginning of the week. Planning Commissioners . . .
