A local energy company will have to decide whether to appeal a ruling after the Bingham County Planning and Zoning Committee rejects its plans for a wind farm. Western Energy of Firth proposed to build 66 turbines on a private ranch east of Shelley but a tied vote won't let that happen. The Planning and Zoning Committee tied the vote 4 to 4 which automatically means they had to deny the special use permit. So, Western Energy has 10 days from now to appeal that decision. And they said they sure will.

It's a debate still up in the air. Will the proposed 150 turbine wind farm be built in Bingham County? Ridgeline Energy, the company hoping to put up the turbines says the wind in the Wolverine area is some of the best which makes it ideal for generating energy. But this is just one of many projects they have going on in Eastern Idaho.

Eastern Idaho wind reeks havoc on your hair, but it's a hot commodity. About 40 people showed up in the Bingham County Courthouse to voice their opinion or listen to opinions concerning the Cedar Creek Wind Farm proposed by Western Energy LLC. ...They are expected to make a decision tonight however as of the end of our newscast no decision had been made.

Some landowners who favor a wind farm coming to the area of Wolverine Canyon are a little concerned Tuesday morning about the upcoming public comment period, since there is worry that the public has been misinformed. ...Landowners on both sides of the controversy must face a re-do of the entire decision on bringing wind turbines to the area, after worries of a conflict of interest caused the commissioners to send the controversy back to Planning and Zoning.

It's been months of back and forth debating about a project spinning with opposition and Monday, was no different. A decision about the wind turbine project in the Wolverine Canyon is still up in the air. Bingham County Commissioners met Monday afternoon, after delaying a decision about a week ago. This time, they found a potential conflict of interest in the Planning and Zoning Committee's previous vote. Now, they're tossing it back to them to look at the problem a little closer. The latest development in this spinning saga is one of the newest members of the Planning and Zoning committee, Larry Kohler.

The commissioners meeting ended almost as quickly as it began. A decision trumped by yet another technicality that will send the issue back to the Bingham County Planning & Zoning. "One of the members of the planning and zoning board...Mr. Collier owns property adjecent to the proposed project." That makes the earlier decision by the P&Z a possible conflict of interest. Now, a controversial issue over a wind farm in Bingham County will have to be re-heard by the planning and zoning commission which includes another public comment period.

It was supposed to be the meeting to end all meetings in the controversial proposed Ridgeline Energy wind farm. But once again, the Bingham County Commissioners brought their meeting to a very anti-climactic end without a decision. It was brought to the commissioners attention that the newest member of Bingham County's planning and zoning commission, Larry Kohler, had owned property near the proposed site in Wolverine Canyon. The county commissioners decided that his vote was a potential conflict of interest.

The wind must be great in Bingham County, because another company is asking to build wind turbines in the area. Wednesday night they went before the Bingham County Planning and Zoning Committee, with their 66 wind turbine proposal. Committee members from the planning and zoning board grilled Western Energy on every aspect on its proposal. Altogether about 50 people showed up to learn more, and to voice their opinion.

The question of whether Ridgeline Energy Corp. will receive a special use permit for its proposed 150-turbine Goshen South Wind Project in a Natural Resources/Agriculture Zone in the mountains east of Blackfoot remains unanswered following a public meeting Tuesday of the Bingham County Commission. The commissioners met to consider two appeals of the County Planning and Zoning Commission decision when it voted 4-3 on April 23 to grant the special use permit for the project.

It's a controversy spinning with opposition. The proposed wind farm in Bingham County isn't going anywhere, anytime soon. This morning, the commissioners met to discuss whether the Planning and Zoning Committee acted appropriately in their 4-to-3 vote to approve the project. After three hours of questions and bouncing thoughts back and forth, they couldn't come up with an answer leaving the decision still up in the air. ...The big questions: Will these turbines fit under the zoned "Natural Resource Agricultural Land" and will they change the character of the area. Idaho Falls businessman and Wolverine Canyon property owner, Frank VanderSloot says wind turbines will not only destroy Mother Nature but may spiral out of control. "The county doesn't know where they're going to be. The county doesn't know where the 80 miles of roads are going to be and they're just approving it. Point blank," explained VanderSloot. Ridgeline says Bingham County will essentially be a partner in this endeavor.

More than 20,000 acres of the Wolverine Canyon, east of Shelley, may be blanketed with more than 150 wind turbines. This, after the Bingham County Planning and Zoning Commission approved the installation in a 4 to 3 vote nearly a month ago. But this vision has one local man taking a stand against what he believes will destroy Mother Nature. The wind turbine controversy is stirring up well-known Idaho Falls businessman, Frank Vandersloot, so much he took an ad out in the newspaper. ...Bingham County Commissioner, Wayne Brower says, this area is zoned as a natural resource and agricultural land. And in a week, the commissioners will decide if the proposed wind turbines fit under that title.

A public meeting has been scheduled by the Bingham County Commissioners for 9 a.m. on May 27 in Courtroom 1 of the County Courthouse to hear two appeals filed by a group of area residents trying to stop a wind power project in the Wolverine area. ...The group is appealing an April 23 decision of the Bingham County Planning and Zoning Commission granting a special use permit to Ridgeline Energy, LLC for the Goshen South Wind Power Project that would put 150 wind turbines and appurtenant structures in a 20-mile corridor of the Blackfoot Mountains that encompasses 20,212 acres.

A special use permit for Ridgeline Energy's Goshen Wind Power Project was approved on a four to three vote by the Bingham County Planning and Zoning Commission on Wednesday night. ...Commission Chairman Merril Blake, who was spared from making a tie-breaking vote by the 4-3 decision, spoke against the project, saying it had been presented as a wind farm as though it were just another type of agriculture. He said the application doesn't meet the requirements for a special use stated in the zoning ordinance.

With a 4 to 3 vote, Bingham County Planning and Zoning Commissioners gave Ridgeline Energy the go ahead to build the Wolverine Canyon wind Farm consisting of 150 wind turbines that could be 492 feet tall. But there were some provisions to the approval and they can't break ground just yet. ...And if someone wants to appeal the commission's decision, they have 10 days to do so. And some landowners want to appeal.

No decision yet on a proposed wind farm in Bingham County. The meeting adjourned just before 1am Thursday morning and will pick back up on April 23rd. Back at the end of March, the Bingham County Zoning and Planning Commission held a hearing until close to 1 a.m. morning but no decision was made. So again Wednesday night, Ridgeline Energy was back to share their plans for 150 wind turbines in the Wolverine Canyon area, northeast of Blackfoot.

No decision yet on a proposed wind farm in Bingham County. As of 9 p.m. Wednesday night, the meeting is still going on and it started at 7 p.m. Back at the end of March, the Bingham County Zoning and Planning Commission held a hearing until close to 1 a.m. morning but no decision was made. So again Wednesday night, Ridgeline Energy was back to share their plans for 150 wind turbines in the Wolverine Canyon area, northeast of Blackfoot. ...Wednesday's meeting was just about packed. Those for the idea say it's a need in Bingham County while those against it say its wind turbines are needed just somewhere else.

Ridgeline Energy, the same folks who built the wind turbines on Taylor Mountain and Wolverine Canyon need approval to get their turbines built on more than 22,000 acres in the Goshen Area. Ridgeline Energy is looking for approval to build up at 150 wind turbines no taller than 492 feet each east of Blackfoot in Wolverine Canyon. ..."I just can't believe that everybody wants to go up there and destroy the beauty of that canyon and everything. They've destroyed all the Tex Creek area. They're making bone area look so disgusting that you don't even want to go up there anymore. And why do they have to go into wolverine canyon and do that?" says William Jones, who is against the wind farm proposal.

Ridgeline Energy has resubmitted its application for a special use permit. The permit would allow Ridgeline to place 150 windmills in Wolverine Canyon. Last fall a special use permit was approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission, but after learning more than a dozen people didn't get notice of the public meeting, Bingham County commissioners overturned the decision.

A new House bill, gaining support among lawmakers in Boise, could spearhead the construction of renewable energy plants on Idaho's federal lands. If enacted, HB 500 would open up some of Idaho's endowment lands for the capture of renewable energy such as wind, geothermal or solar rays. That power could be used to satiate Idaho's growing energy needs or be sold to neighboring states.

A Seattle company has withdrawn plans to develop a wind farm in Eastern Idaho because local government leaders failed to properly notify affected landowners. ...The Bingham County Commission delayed a public hearing on the project Tuesday after learning that 75 landowners in two subdivisions near the site were not made aware of the hearing.