DRAPER, Utah County — Phillip Green believes the wintry gusts that blew down his windmill tower last December prove his point.

Green believes there is enough wind power blowing across the Traverse Mountain peaks to provide clean, cheap energy.

Green's effort to amass the data needed to determine the viability for such a project came up short with the downfall of his experimental tower, however. He now must return to the Utah County Commission — and perhaps Draper city officials — for permission to reconstruct the anemometer tower.

Green said the tower was up for just 4 1/2 months — he was hoping for a yearlong test run — before it was toppled in December. The state's Energy Office is ordering new parts for the tower and would like Green to continue his experiment. The problem is, his test permit expires in January.

Getting the initial permit wasn't easy as Green's request met stiff opposition from area developers and homeowners concerned over the impact the tower — and the expected clones that inevitably will follow a successful test — will have on the view from the expensive homes dotting the ridge.

Although he weathered the storm of controversy in the first go-round, he isn't anxious to go through it again. He was granted a permit in December 2002 and posted a $5,000 bond to guarantee removal of the test tower within two years.

Green said he is frustrated with laws that limit towers to just 60 feet high in the critical environment zone. Green wants a tower that has a windmill hub at least 150 feet above ground level.

"It's one of those things where the law is all inclusive, they don't look at the common sense of things," Green said. "I'm getting no co-operation from the Utah County people, and we're in an energy crunch. The basic technology is there to cut pollution, but because of zoning restrictions, it makes it very difficult to do anything."

Green will need a time extension from the Utah County Commission to continue the test, and it now appears he will also need a conditional-use permit from Draper city. Maps filed with the Utah County recorder indicate the land was part of an annexation by Draper in 2003.

Green claims he was illegally included in the annexation and that the boundary line on the map was simply redrawn, skirting due process.

Draper planning manager Grant Crowell said city records do not indicate Green's property was part of the annexation.

Utah County deputy attorney David Shawcroft said in a County Commission meeting in early 2003 that Draper may not have intended to annex Green, but the maps filed with the recorder's office show Green's property lies inside Draper boundaries.

Buck Rose, Utah County planner, says Green's property lends itself well to something like the proposed windmill farm and not much else.

---

E-mail: haddoc@desnews.com