Wind power gets airing in Park City

PARK CITY — Eighty steel towers rise out of the sagebrush in Evanston, Wyo., supporting blades longer than an airplane wing. Powered only by the wind, the massive blades glide through the air 365 feet above the ground, generating enough power for 145,000 homes throughout the region.

The landscape of turbines, called a wind farm, is less than a year old and has already saved the Florida Light Power and Energy Co. from having to build 10 coal-based power plants.

The success of the renewable energy field in Wyoming has Park City officials thinking about harnessing the wind for their city as well. In fact, the city has set a goal to use wind power for 15 percent of its energy needs this year.

Utah has no wind farms of its own and has to buy wind-powered energy from the Wyoming plant. But Maile Buker, a member of the Park City Leadership group, said she hopes increased demand for the renewable energy in Park City and around the state will be the catalyst for creating wind energy within Utah.

"We're just creating more awareness and getting people more used to wind power instead of fossil fuels," said Buker, who is sponsoring a "Wind Power Week" this week in Park City to encourage people to sign up for wind power.

The week of activities included a tour of the Evanston wind farm Wednesday and will conclude with a panel discussion on power plants and global warming at 7:30 p.m. today at 1255 Park Ave.

"Things are warming up. Glaciers are melting quickly. That greatest snow on earth in Utah may be gone soon," Buker said.

Park City Mayor Dana Williams hopes to use the week to promote Utah Power's Blue Sky program, which allows residents to sign up for wind energy as a percentage of their monthly power. Although the option tacks on $1.95 for every 100 kilowatts, Buker said prices will drop if Utah gets its own wind farm. The average home runs on 700 kilowatts a month.

Sarah Wright at Utah Clean Energy Alliance said wind power has not caught on in Utah because of the sporadic nature of the wind in the state, and because of the lack of incentives to build wind farms, Wright said. A farm equivalent to the one in Evanston would cost about $150 million to construct.

The Legislature passed a sales tax incentive for developers building renewable energy sites earlier this year, a move that Wright said may start the ball rolling for wind-powered energy in Utah.