June 26, 2019
Utah, Wyoming

County’s first wind farm to get public airing June 27 in Coalville

Alexander Cramer | Park Record | June 25, 2019 | www.parkrecord.com

Summit County might be getting its first wind farm.

The project would be on the far east side of the county, about seven miles southwest of the nearest population center, Evanston, Wyoming.

Emily Skill, a project developer with the firm that’s shepherding the project through the approval process, Enyo Renewable Energy, said the folks in Evanston will be able to see the turbines. But since the project is in Summit County, it has to pass through the planning process here.

Enyo is hosting an open house to hear from the public from 6-8 p.m. Thursday, June 27, at the Ledges Event Center, 202 Park Road, Coalville. Enyo staff members will be on hand to explain and answer questions about the project.

Lisa Yoder, the county’s sustainability program manager said the project is “a big deal.”

“I believe it is the first wind farm in the county and it absolutely supports the county’s net 100 percent renewable electrical energy goals,” Yoder wrote in an email.

The Echo Divide Wind Park will use approximately 39 turbines along the Utah-Wyoming border south of Interstate 80 to generate up to 100 megawatts of electricity, Skill said in a press release. That’s enough to power about 21,730 homes, which Yoder points out is about 80 percent of the total in Summit County.

There’s no guarantee the energy will stay in Summit County, though the county will be able to bid for it. Enyo has an agreement in place with Rocky Mountain Power to tap into its distribution network, but no agreement yet about who will purchase the power.

Skill said municipalities that have renewable energy goals like the county, Park City or Salt Lake City might be interested in purchasing the power, as well as utilities like RMP.

Skill said the firm has lease agreements signed with landowners, has submitted an application for a permit, is scheduled to present the project at an info session at the end of July and have the East Side Planning Commission vote on whether to approve the process Aug. 1 or Aug. 15.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2019/06/26/countys-first-wind-farm-to-get-public-airing-june-27-in-coalville/