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Wind Power News: Utah
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch in its noncommercial educational effort to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch. They are the products of and owned by the organizations or individuals noted and are shared here according to “fair use” and “fair dealing” provisions of copyright law.
BLM advances Wyoming-to-Utah project to spur renewables
The Bureau of Land Management is advancing a major multistate transmission line project that the Obama administration considers a top priority in its ongoing efforts to develop wind and solar power in the West. BLM announced yesterday it has completed a final environmental impact statement (EIS) for the 416-mile-long Gateway South Transmission Line Project, which is proposed by PacifiCorp’s Rocky Mountain Power and has been under federal review since 2008. The proposed route in the final EIS would stretch from . . . Complete story »
Fewer breezes led to less wind power generation in West last year
SALT LAKE CITY – The wind didn’t howl quite as fiercely in 2015 in Utah and eight other states across the West, leading to the nation’s smallest increase in wind generated power in 16 years. A recent analysis by the U.S. Energy Information Administration said weather patterns in the western portion of the United States created only a 5.1 percent increase in wind generated power over 2014. By comparison, electricity from wind generation grew by nearly 20 percent in 2013 and . . . Complete story »
Wind firm seeks to smooth property tax payments
The company that has developed a 27-turbine wind farm north of Monticello is seeking the cooperation of taxing entities to “smooth out” their tax payments over the 20-year life of the project. Representatives from sPower outlined the proposal at the February 9 meeting of the San Juan School Board. Representatives from other taxing entities in San Juan County also attended the meeting. The wind farm, with an estimated value of up to $125 million, is expected to generate more than . . . Complete story »
Wind park lawsuit filed
A lawsuit has been filed against San Juan County by a group of property owners who oppose the Latigo Wind Park. Members of the Northern Monticello Alliance (NMA) own property within an 80-acre parcel in the middle of the wind park. On January 7, the group filed suit in Seventh District Court to stop a recent San Juan County decision that allowed the project to proceed. They ask that the county decision be declared null and void. The $125 million . . . Complete story »
A state-by-state look at renewable energy requirements
Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia have requirements that utilities get a certain amount of their electricity from renewable sources. Nine additional states have goals for renewable energy, while a dozen others have no targets. A state-by-state look at renewable energy policies. ALABAMA No renewable energy standard. ALASKA A bill passed in 2010 sets a goal, but not a requirement, for Alaska to receive half its electricity from renewable and alternative energy sources by 2025. ARIZONA Public utilities must . . . Complete story »
Another perspective on the Latigo Wind Farm
If you live in Monticello, or in Southeast Utah and love the scenery, and if you have an appreciation for history, you need to do something now for yourself and your family: Take a couple hours off, and drive a few miles miles east of town. Watch the sunrise, when those first rays come over Lone Cone and the San Juans to the east in Colorado and bathe the Abajo Mountains, just west of Monticello, in a soft golden light. . . . Complete story »
Massive wind farm begins to take shape
The Latigo Wind Farm, the largest private construction project in San Juan County history, is taking shape just north of Monticello city limits. More than 100 workers are on-site, working on an estimated $125 million project to construct 27 massive wind turbines. Crews are making progress, and the first wind turbine will be erected in coming days. The first tower to be erected is at the highest (and most westerly) point of the wind park, at an altitude of 7,985 . . . Complete story »
Utah’s latest wind farm might be its last — if it even gets off the ground
Foundations are now being poured on land outside Monticello for 308-foot towers that will support 27 massive turbines, driven by 187-foot blades, as part of Utah’s latest renewable-energy project. The ambitious and long-stalled Latigo Wind Park, expected to begin running electricity into the grid by year’s end, will be the state’s largest wind farm serving Utah homes, with a capacity of 61 megawatts. But the project is again encountering stiff headwinds and political turbulence, this time stemming from a competitor . . . Complete story »
Group appeals Latigo wind farm permit
While crews are busily working on the Latigo Wind Park northwest of Monticello, another group has filed a protest to the San Juan County Planning Commission. The protest seeks to rescind a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) which was issued for the wind park in July, 2012. The next regularly-scheduled meeting of the Planning Commission is September 3 at 7 p.m. in Monticello. Officials state that the Planning Commission may change the date and time of the meeting in order to . . . Complete story »
Some disturbing facts behind those ‘renewable’ wind turbines
Sometimes the endless open spaces of the West impress me most when I can’t see them at all. One night when I was a ranger at the Arches National Park campground, I encountered a woman so terrified she could barely speak. She was from New York City, camping for the first time in her life, and had pitched her tent next to the campground “comfort station.” She felt comforted by the 200 watt security lights. When our generator failed that . . . Complete story »
