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Wind project at standstill

Green River Star|Jami Ford|November 19, 2008
WyomingGeneral

Representatives from White Mountain Wind LLC came before the county commissioners yesterday to seek adjustments for the placement of 36 wind turbines on White Mountain. After much discussion, White Mountain Wind withdrew the resolution, in order to bring it back at another time. ...White Mountain Wind asked to untable the resolution to discuss moving the proposed placement of the turbines to locations near the approved locations to make better use of the wind on White Mountain.


Representatives from White Mountain Wind LLC came before the county commissioners yesterday to seek adjustments for the placement of 36 wind turbines on White Mountain. After much discussion, White Mountain Wind withdrew the resolution, in order to bring it back at another time.

White Mountain Wind asked to untable the resolution to discuss moving the proposed placement of the turbines to locations near the approved locations to make better use of the wind on White Mountain. Gary Tassainer said he wanted to make the project as efficient as possible. The dispute arose over several unanswered questions remaining from earlier deliberation on the matter.

Commissioner Debbie Boese posed questions ranging from economic impact to keeping …

... more [truncated due to possible copyright]

Representatives from White Mountain Wind LLC came before the county commissioners yesterday to seek adjustments for the placement of 36 wind turbines on White Mountain. After much discussion, White Mountain Wind withdrew the resolution, in order to bring it back at another time.

White Mountain Wind asked to untable the resolution to discuss moving the proposed placement of the turbines to locations near the approved locations to make better use of the wind on White Mountain. Gary Tassainer said he wanted to make the project as efficient as possible. The dispute arose over several unanswered questions remaining from earlier deliberation on the matter.

Commissioner Debbie Boese posed questions ranging from economic impact to keeping promises. Questions revealed 40-50 jobs would be generated in the wind turbine erection and of those, 12 would remain as constant jobs within Sweetwater County. Boese also expressed annoyance arising from a tour that never happened.

Both entities agreed at the last meeting between the two that WMW would take the commissioners to White Mountain and let them see first hand the placement locations for the 36 turbines. This never happened.

When asking about environmental concerns WMW divulged that 500 tons of concrete will be used atop White Mountain to create bases for the turbines measuring 30 feet by 30 feet across and 15 feet deep.

Randy Walker asked WMW "essentially, what's in it for us?" WMW responded, saying this would bring tax revenue, jobs and and other benefits to the county. When asked how much, WMW representatives told commissioners they were awaiting the projections.

County treasurer Robb Slaughter advised the board, with 36 turbines approximately $171,000 in tax revenues would be generated yearly, based on projections from sister counties like Carbon County. This is less than one tenth of 1 percent of current tax revenues within the county. With the possible 240 wind turbines, $1,140,000 would be generated. In comparison to the county's current revenue this is .7 percent of the amount already generated without the turbines. WMW expects the results from their economic analysis later this week.

During the meeting, WMW representative Gary Tassainer said Sweetwater County is "the most restrictive county he has worked with." He explained the Environmental Assessment being developed in conjunction with the Bureau of Land Management on this project has nearly become an Environmental Impact Statement.

Tassainer told commissioners he would gladly build the turbines exactly where they were approved, but had hoped changes could be made to their location to maximize effectiveness and efficiency and to minimize intrusiveness.

The other major issue of debate centered around setback requirements or recommendations. The State of Wyoming does not require a setback, the distance between the turbines and other objects such as roads, but does recommend a 1/3 mile setback as a safety buffer against debris.

Commissioners expressed concern about debris. If the machinery is faulty, turbine blades could become dislodged and fly across the land. Ice in the winter poses a similar hazard.

Tassainer said they would gladly turn off the turbines during icy conditions to ensure the safety of Sweetwater County residents. The blades of the turbines are designed to shed ice in the presence of sunlight, they explained. After the blades shed the ice, the turbines could be turned back on.

This led to another controversial issue between the commissioners and WMW. The roads leading to White Mountain are county roads, and are not normally maintained in the winter. Questions arose surrounding whether maintaining the roads during the winter would be the responsibility of the county, or if WMW would need to take on that responsibility, for their access to the turbines.

In lieu of the questions that have yet to be answered about this project, the commissioners gave WMW the option of having the resolution tabled indefinitely, to be reopened under conditions at the discretion of the board. The other option left to WMW was to withdraw the resolution themselves, and bring it back at a later time, with questions answered.

WMW chose the latter option.


Source:http://www.greenriverstar.com…

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