January 27, 2011
Utah

Wind farm draws scant interest

By Bryon Saxton, Standard-Examiner Davis Bureau, www.standard.net 26 January 2011

SOUTH WEBER – A proposed $30 million wind farm near the mouth of Weber Canyon failed to blow away the South Weber City Council, resulting in the plan being tabled for further review.

South Weber Winds co-owner Scott Casas approached the council Tuesday evening requesting exclusive development rights for a 10-turbine wind farm near the mouth of the canyon that would generate electricity for the cities of South Weber and Uintah.

But South Weber city leaders questioned whether the city had the legal right to grant such exclusivity and tabled any action on the matter.

Casas said he believes the city has the authority to grant exclusive development for public utilities. Exclusivity is needed on such a project, he said, because it involves a specific location and the force of the wind would be difficult to divide among competing companies.

But as a former salesman, Casas said, he is not discouraged by the council’s action.

“They didn’t say no. They kind of tabled it,” he said.

No one attending the council meeting spoke against the project.

In the meantime, South Weber Winds will consult with legal counsel to be sure that what it is requesting is something the city can provide, Casas said.

The company is also in talks with the city of Uintah to place a few turbines there, Casas said. But most of the wind farm would need to be developed on South Weber land to make it effective, he said.

Based on 18 months of measuring the wind coming out of Weber Canyon, Casas said the 10-turbine, 300-foot-tall towers would generate enough electricity to power the cities of South Weber and Uintah, while the remaining power would be sold.

But Casas said that until South Weber city leaders make a decision, he is stuck.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/01/27/wind-farm-draws-scant-interest/