Though a final decision has yet to be made, the Blaine County Commission made it clear this week that it does not favor allowing wind energy facilities in the "scenic corridor," the area visible from state Highway 75. It's the biggest issue the commission faces while continuing deliberations on a proposed ordinance regulating wind energy facilities. The meeting Tuesday at the Old County Courthouse in Hailey was the fifth public hearing on the issue and another, possibly the last, is set for Tuesday, Nov. 24, at 2 p.m.

Federal biologists are still researching what effects a 185-turbine wind farm would have on the desert southwest of Rogerson. But the U.S. Bureau of Land Management is now asking for more public comment on the proposal, this time on a modification to the resource management plan that governs whether the agency can even consider allowing a wind farm in its Jarbidge Field Office. The China Mountain project would place turbines generating up to 425 megawatts in parts of a largely federal, 30,700-acre area.

Bingham County Commission Chairman Cleone Jolley said a public hearing held at Shelley City Hall Thursday was aimed at disseminating information and collecting public input related to a proposed new ordinance regulating siting of wind turbines. Jolley said the proposed ordinance also regulates future construction of wind farms in the county. Currently, Bingham County has no ordinance pertaining to the new energy technology.

Ridgeline Energy is starting from scratch. The company that has been working since 2006 to build a wind farm on 20,212 acres west of Shelley has withdrawn its permit application with Bingham County's planning and zoning department. The wind farm isn't being abandoned altogether, though. ""We will be refiling a new application,"" project manager Randy Gardner said.

It's an on-going saga still spinning with controversy. Idaho Falls business mogul and Melaleuca CEO, Frank Vandersloot, gets deeper into the Bingham County windmill debate. He's known for strongly opposing the Wolverine Canyon windfarm project east of Blackfoot on the grounds it'll ruin the area's natural beauty. Recently, one of his companies called Natural Guardian sent out a survey to people living in Bingham County to see where they stand on the issue.

A local development that met an overwhelming amount of opposition was once approved, only to be denied based on land zoning technicalities. Some argue that very tall wind turbines should not mix with the scenic Wolverine Canyon area in Bingham County. Frank VanderSloot released the findings of his own survey on Wednesday. His findings indicate that the majority of people in Bingham County do not want to have anything to do with wind farms.

Idaho Power Co. and Rocky Mountain Power, who want to snake a $7 billion network of 190-foot transmission towers across the West, face a tangled matrix of state and local barriers as challenging as the hardships faced by the pioneers who traveled much the same route on the Oregon Trail a century and a half ago. ..."These are projects everybody needs and nobody wants," said Lisa Grow, Idaho Power's vice president for transmission.

On Wednesday, August 19th, a Bingham County judge released a 38-page document overturning a Planning and Zoning Committee's approval to move forward with the proposed Wolverine Canyon wind-farm. The judge cited several areas in which he felt Ridgeline Energy's application for a special use permit was filed improperly.

An Aug. 13 decision in Bingham County court has delayed development of a 150-turbine wind farm in Wolverine Canyon near the Bingham-Bonneville county line. Judge Richard St. Clair ruled that because of errors in its application, and some conflicts of interest, Ridgeline Energy would have to go back to the county planning and zoning board to re-apply for a special use permit if it wants to build the Goshen South wind farm.

Wednesday afternoon Bingham County Judge Richard St. Clair notified attorneys for Ridgeline Energy they will have to re-apply for a special use zoning permit for a proposed 150 turbine wind farm in Wolverine Canyon. According to a 38 page ruling there were several errors made during Ridgeline Energy's application process, making it necessary to extend an already lengthy process.

It's been in the works for more than a year and now, it's fate lies in the hands of the Judge Richard St. Clair. Will he decide in favor of moving forward with the controversial 150-turbine wind farm in Wolverine Canyon? Or, will Bingham County have to go back to the drawing board? ...Petitioners believe a wind farm can't go in Wolverine Canyon because it's zoned for natural resources or agriculture. They see wind turbines as industrial, not natural.

Mounting opposition from private landowners has prompted federal regulators to take an additional five to six months in the analysis of the Gateway West Transmission Line Project. The proposed high-voltage transmission line would span 1,150 miles from Glenrock to Melba, Idaho.

Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter and Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal praised in separate press releases July 16 a decision by electric utilities and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to look at alternative routes for the Gateway West transmission project proposed by PacifiCorp and Idaho Power Co. The decision came in response to mounting concerns from constituents.

A Boise wind-farm developer plans to build a number of new farms this year in southern Idaho - a sign that the winds seem to still favor Idaho's renewable-energy industry. Boise-based Exergy Development Group's last Idaho project - Fossil Gulch - was the state's first "utility-scale" wind farm when it was built near Hagerman in 2004.

Now, three species in Idaho have the potential to be listed as endangered within just a few years. If any is granted federal protection, it could drastically change the nature of development across much of the West, where the open sagebrush-covered lands are still often the focus of development. A critical mass of conflicting factors is on the horizon as the growing energy needs of the West and a concerted push to develop wind energy land squarely in the front yard of two of the regions' most sensitive species.

June 15 will mark the passage of the new Madison County wind turbine ordinance (Zoning Ordinance No. 357) -- provided that no objections are filed by county residents prior to that date. On May 15, Madison County Commissioners adopted the findings of fact by the Madison Planning and Zoning Commission. The adoption means that unless public protest is given, the ordinance will be passed.

The Madison County Planning and Zoning Commission has finished drafting an ordinance to regulate the use of small and commercial wind turbines. According to Madison County P&Z Administrator Brent McFadden, the proposed ordinance has been in the works for the past six months. If passed, the wind turbine ordinance would amend Zoning Ordinance No. 176 by adding a chapter on wind turbine placement and specifications.

Plans by two electric utilities to build 1,150 miles of new high-voltage transmission lines across southern Idaho and Wyoming are on schedule, with a draft environmental impact statement on the work expected late this summer. ...Idaho Power began work on a series of environmental studies that will provide crucial information for the draft document.