The turbine closest to town would be about a mile from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Monticello temple. Some wind towers might be within a half mile of some property lines at the northern of town, but Wasatch Wind said the closest city boundary will be approximately three-fourths of a mile from the nearest turbine.

Growth and more expensive sources of power are necessitating a look at raising rates, here. "Power operations have not covered operating costs for two or three years," said City Manager John Thacker Monday.

A proposed $30 million wind farm near the mouth of Weber Canyon failed to blow away the South Weber City Council, resulting in the plan being tabled for further review.

UAMPS is looking to install a 108-megawatt wind farm in Bonneville County, Idaho, and needs cities to commit in advance in order to buy up to 56 wind turbines for the project. Amid the complicated numbers and projections that filled last week's meeting, one aspect became the decision's true hinge: Will the need for renewable energy in the future justify its higher cost now?

Guy and Beth Nelson thought they were going to cut their power bill when they installed a windmill ...But since the turbine went up last October, so have their power bills. They haven't received a credit for generating excess power that supposedly goes back into the grid, and Beth Nelson wonders if the new reversible meter the city installed is actually being sped up, instead of reversing, when the canyon winds blow.

Madison, Wis.-based RMT Inc. says it laid off some workers and reassigned others because of the delay.

The developer of Utah's largest commercial wind farm is putting a plan to expand the project on hold for now. First Wind spokesman John Lamontagne said the company has every reason to believe it can get started soon on 68 more turbines - once it wins a contract to sell the power.

A Utah startup says it will add sonar and laser devices along with mechanical wind meters to assess the potential for a wind farm along the Wyoming border. Together, the devices will tell the company where on leased lands to put spinning turbines of different sizes to match wind conditions.

It was standing room only at Monday's public hearing during the Iron County Commission meeting addressing a proposed wind ordinance amendment recommended by the Iron County Planning Commission. The ordinance was not passed, at the urging of the public, so further studies could be conducted relating to fire hazards, erosion impact and power transmission corridors associated with wind farms.

There's a method of steering a big truck that's so obscure you've probably never heard of it, but it's considered dangerous enough to be banned in Utah and several other states. A KSL investigation shows it happens a lot, possibly as a matter of routine. The issue involves long loads like giant windmill blades. "Blade Runners" used to be rare, but the wind farm industry is booming, and some drivers are literally steering two vehicles at the same time.

After nearly two years of planning, Utah's largest electric utility announced Tuesday that crews had begun constructing a $600 million, 135-mile high-voltage transmission line from a new substation near Downey, Idaho, to an existing substation near the Salt Lake City International Airport. Rocky Mountain Power spokesman David Eskelsen told the Deseret News that work on the Populus to Terminal transmission line is under way, with the first segment in PacifiCorp's Energy Gateway transmission expansion scheduled for completion in 2010.

No one was disputing that wind power is an abundant, affordable, readily available energy source but many residents of Kanarraville and New Harmony opposed the idea of it being harnessed by up to 50 wind turbines as proposed for the Harmony Mountains at a meeting sponsored by Wasatch Wind, on Thursday. "Why here," "Why us" and "Why now," were the three main questions posed by an audience of more than 300 people to representatives of the company.

A chunk of school trust land has been leased as part of the ongoing development of a wind farm in Beaver and Millard counties that will eventually sell power to numerous cities in Southern California. ...SITLA and a subsidiary of First Wind Energy signed the lease earlier this year for 1,560 acres that are expected to be home to 11 wind turbine generators. That represents just a small portion of the project that will eventually include 159 turbines that will be 262 feet high on 40 square miles of public and private land.

A $400 million renewable energy project could begin construction next month and would power roughly a quarter-million Southern California homes. The plan has received no criticism during a public-input phase that ends Oct. 6. An open house Thursday in Milford introduced Beaver County residents to the plan that would put 159 wind turbines - each 262 feet tall - across 40-square miles on public and private land located 10 miles northeast of town.

The wind farm would be located approximately 10 miles northeast of Milford, and when completed could consist of up to 159 wind turbine generators, each up to 262 feet tall with rotor blades up to 328 feet in diameter. The generators, spaced 0.8 miles apart, could generate up to 300 megawatts of electricity continuously. BLM representatives attend the meetings to address public comments and concerns regarding the agency's draft finding of "no significant impact." Lucas Lucero, BLM project manager, said officials would compile and review any and all public comments that come in. The public comment period ends Oct. 6.

The process of tying into the grid has to go through the Utah Municipal Power Agency, which for years has provided electricity to six cities in Utah County, including Spanish Fork, via several sources in and around Utah, including coal-fired power plants and the Glen Canyon Dam. "We encourage wind turbines," said UMPA general manager Leon Pexton. He said demand to tie into UMPA lines is only beginning to surface. "We're just starting to work through that issue." In addition to needing time to figure out how tying in to UMPA's lines would work, Thomas said other issues needing resolutions include determining whether turbines would be a noise nuisance and whether they're installed on the user's land. "It can't be ugly," Thomas added.

A 19-megawatt, nine-turbine wind-energy facility is up and running, selling electricity to PacifiCorp and representing the first utility-scale wind project in the state's history. "I'm sure others will catch up and pass it, because it's not a big project by wind-energy standards, but it is the biggest in Utah at the moment," said Randolph Mann, vice president of wind development for Edison Mission Group Inc., based in Irvine, Calif. EMG manages the power-generation business and other unregulated subsidiaries of Edison International.

A famous oilman is touting windmills as a solution to the energy crisis, and a few Utahns are jumping on board. ...But there are solid grounds for arguing against the scheme. The much-hyped potential for windpower is itself largely wind. ...In fact, wind power will be an environmental disaster. The turbine blades measure 130 feet long, and weigh 7 tons. Guess who wins in any collision with a bald eagle or other bird? The windmills rise 400 feet above the ground, and because they must catch the breezes, they often hog the ridges and skylines. Do you think Squaw Peak or Mt. Timpanogos would look better with windmills 400 feet high running along their spines?

The nine turbines will make up the first wind farm in Utah, which is one of the only Western states without one. ...Currently, the land is worth just more than half a million dollars, Hiskey said. When the windmills and generators are added to the property, it will be worth $25.5 million. "In our first year, we would receive $66,719," she said, referring to what the tax collection will be with the rebate. Mikell said the agreement is the best possible solution for the company as well as the tax beneficiaries. The company will receive a tax break, and land will be developed that could not be used otherwise. "The turbines were actually the least impact thing that could be built there," she said. "Getting something [built on the property] is better than nothing."

Data analyzed from Feb. 1, 2006, through Jan. 31, 2007, determined that Hurricane only ranks as a Class 1 wind-generation site. In order for wind-generation to be a viable option, the site must rank at least a Class 4 out of 7. The analysis showed that Hurricane may get bursts of strong wind, but it simply isn't consistent enough for wind power to be a suitable option for renewable energy source. The report also stated the month with the highest average wind speed was January and the lowest was March. The wind speeds also peaked in the middle of the night and decreased in the morning.