In the United States, however, the development of wind farms has been tied to the availability of renewable energy tax credits. And since the federal credit has historically been renewed every other year, growth has been unstable. In years where the credit is available, the number of new projects explodes. In years when it is not, it falls off to nearly nothing.

Federal lawmakers changed that in 2005, when they reauthorized the credit through December 2007. The law, which gives energy producers a 1.9-cent tax credit for every kilowatt-hour of wind energy they produce for the first 10 years of a project's life, is often "the difference between profitability and failure," Johnson said.

Utah has traditionally offered an additional tax credit for producers of alternative energies. However, the most recent credit is set to expire at the end of the year, and it was not renewed in this year's legislative session.

Wasatch Wind already has signed a purchase agreement with PacifiCorp to sell all the power its Spanish Fork project produces for the first 20 years of its life. But without the state tax credit, which gives a one-time benefit based on the value of the turbines, Wasatch Wind president Tracy Livingston worries whether the project will break even.

But that, Livingston said, isn't his primary concern.

"The wind energy business is very competitive, and projects are gravitating to states with incentives," he said. "With no incentives here, investors are looking elsewhere. (Restoring the tax incentive) is not just a function of whether our project will go forward; it's going to have an impact on whether wind energy will go forward in the state."

Livingston said he has lost one investor who wanted to support projects in states where wind energy is flourishing.

Utah Clean Energy, a nonprofit group dedicated to promoting wind and other sources of renewable energy, has been working with legislators to get the credit restored in the 2007 session, and proponents hope to make it retroactive to cover any gaps.

"All energy sources have subsidies. ... This is the state incentive for renewable energy," said Sarah Wright, executive director of Utah Clean Energy. "So it just levels the playing field."

Wasatch Wind is waiting for Spanish Fork to annex the land for the wind farm and plans to begin construction in early 2007. The project is slated for completion in December 2007, and as long as the credit is in place by then, Livingston said there will be no problem.

"We're optimistic that the Legislature will restore this credit, and so we are moving forward with our development," he said.

Utah breezes