Green-collar jobs

LINCOLN, Kan. — The line of towering wind turbines stands motionless on the ridgeline above Interstate 70 in central Kansas, Y-shaped silhouettes amid the swirling snow.

Despite the weather, dozens of technicians are working to get the 10-mile-long Smoky Hills Wind Farm ready to begin producing electricity.

Jason Martinson, who is supervising the 56-turbine operation on behalf of Enel North America Inc., said that after almost a decade in the industry, he's still amazed by how fast wind farms like Smoky Hills are going up across the nation. But he also said workers like those braving the blizzard-like conditions outside his office are becoming increasingly rare.

"Finding experienced techs is impossible with wind growing as fast as it is," Martinson said. "You get one year's worth of experience and it's like dog years."

Considered a cheap source of renewable power, wind farms have taken off amid concerns over greenhouse gases produced by coal-fired electric plants and the increasing cost of natural gas and other petroleum products. Some states, led by California, have encouraged their development by requiring that a certain portion of their future energy be created through renewable resources.

As Utah seeks to ensure its energy future, the push for renewable energy production got a big boost from the state Legislature last year when Utah lawmakers passed a bill giving renewable energy producers significant tax incentives in the form of tax credits.

The incentive offers commercial producers a credit of 0.35 cents per kilowatt hour produced over the first four years of a project's life, in addition to a federal tax credit of 1.9 cents per kilowatt hour.

Officials estimate the state will hand out about $4.3 million in tax cuts over the next two years. The industry that stands to gain the most from the redesigned corporate credit is wind power. Utah's wind energy market, which until now has been virtually nonexistent, is poised to boom with two major projects nearing the construction phase and other areas of the state investigating the possibilities.

Wasatch Wind is developing an 18.9-megawatt wind farm near the mouth of Spanish Fork Canyon, in Utah County. In Beaver County, UPC Wind's Milford Wind Corridor project is slated to be up and running by the end of this year. The Massachusetts-based company in December signed a 20-year agreement for the 200-megawatt Milford project to supply the city of Los Angeles with renewable wind power.