Tasco also is developing the Bridger Butte wind project 20 miles east of Evanston, with 29 turbines producing electricity that will go mostly to the Wasatch Front, Tassainer said.

In deciding where to build a wind farm, Hymas said a utility has to consider wind strength and availability, as well as access to the location and its proximity to transmission lines. Frequently the best place for the right sort of wind is not in cities or towns, he said. "It's often on high peaks, ridge lines, where you need additional transmission to get the energy off the projects and on the grid."

Factors that also must be weighed include how long the wind blows and when.

Over the past 18 months, PacifiCorp has added 400 megawatts of electricity from renewable sources. The vast majority of its wind power is from Wyoming and the Columbia River Gorge of Oregon and Washington, Eskelsen said.

Wyoming hosts most generating capacity among wind power projects in this region because it has better and more reliable wind resources.

A glance at wind maps prepared for the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory tells the story.

Only one place in Utah, a remote locality about 35 miles east of Lynn, Box Elder County, is rated as having wind resources better than Class 3, meaning it has "fair" wind for generating power. That spot in northwestern Utah includes good and excellent resources. On the other hand, Wyoming has huge swaths, particularly from Casper to Cheyenne, that are labeled from Class 4 to Class 7 — "good," "excellent," "outstanding," and "superb." Some of these locations are near highways.

People wishing to reduce or replace dependence on the power grid can purchase wind turbines. However, one's home may not be in a spot with reliable wind. "It's not just, 'Well, the wind seems to blow strong in this area.' You have to consider a number of factors," Hymas explained.

One drawback is that many municipalities have rules limiting the size of a tower, wind-turbine or otherwise.

Geothermal power

Geothermal power is a technique in which water heated by hot spots in the earth is brought to the surface and "flashed" into steam used to turn turbines. According to the Utah Geological Survey, the Blundell geothermal power station at Roosevelt Hot Springs, near Milford, Beaver County, has been operating for more than 20 years.

Water between 271 and 316 degrees Fahrenheit, located between 2,100 feet and 6,000 feet below ground, is tapped for the project. "The plant produces 26 MW (megawatts) gross" and 23 megawatts net, says a site operated by the UGS. That equals the power that could be generated by burning about 300,000 barrels of oil per year, the UGS adds.