Commission stands firm on turbine locations

There will be no late changes to current plans to construct a 36-turbine wind farm on top of White Mountain, Sweetwater County commissioners told the project's developer Tuesday.

Commissioners said they might, however, be willing to reconsider the developer's request to relocate some of the planned wind turbines -- after a commission replacement is selected for a vacant seat on the three-member board later this week.

The two Sweetwater County commissioners stood firm during a meeting Tuesday morning on the proposed locations of the 36 turbines for the White Mountain Wind Energy Project.

Last summer, Utah-based Tasco Engineering Inc. and partner Teton Power LCC were granted a conditional-use permit for the construction of the wind farm -- to be located on private and federal lands between Rock Springs and Green River -- at a cost of about $100 million.

The proposed site lies near the scenic landmark called Pilot Butte and near the county's recently completed Wild Horse Loop Tour, which runs along the rim of White Mountain. The project marks the county's first foray into wind energy production.

Rick Frandsen, Tasco's director of business development, asked commissioners if they would consider allowing the company to readjust the planned locations of some of the wind turbines in order to maximize their power production.

"We would like to relocate some turbines within the sections ... based on terrain and the manufacturer's recommendations of their placement," Frandsen said.

"We've got better, more extensive modeling now and a better power alignment for the wind turbines ... which should give us the ability to produce power better," he said. "We want to put these where it makes the most sense."

But Commissioners Debby Boese and Chairman Wally Johnson were wary of any last-minute changes to company plans, citing possible impacts to viewsheds and American Indian cultural sites, among others.

"We didn't approve the project (in July 2007) with the understanding they would be moved," Johnson said.

Commissioners were also perturbed that Tasco is seeking federal permission to construct an additional 62 wind turbines on Bureau of Land Management lands on White Mountain and has discussed increasing the size of the original project by as many as 200 additional turbines.

"The scope has gone from 30-odd turbines to 200 or so units ... and if that's the case, it's not fair to Sweetwater County for you to bring it to us piecemeal like this," Johnson said. "The scope of the project is extremely important to the location of those turbines."

Frandsen said if the first two phases of the White Mountain project are successful, the company is considering installing more turbines in the area over the long run.

"But only if there's room to make it work, only if the wind works, if we get our (turbine) alignments, if we get all the things we need ... there's a lot of ifs," he said. "But right now we are proposing 36 turbines (for the first phase) and 62 turbines for the second phase."

County Planner Mark Kot said the county's wind farm regulations do allow some "flexibility" in the placement of the turbines "within that wind permitting process." He said the planning staff was comfortable with allowing a 200-meter readjustment of some of the turbines.

But Boese declined to offer a motion approving the adjustment and suggested tabling the proposal until a third commissioner is selected to the board.

The commission will meet Thursday night to select a replacement for Joe Oldfield, who died Aug. 7 from a sudden illness.

Boese suggested the commissioners also tour the site with Tasco officials to view firsthand the proposed realignment sites.

"I'd be glad to go up and look at the lay of the land and see if that viewshed is affected," she said.

Tasco has also been involved in the development of two wind farm operations in neighboring Uinta County. The company recently completed the construction of 28 wind turbines on Bridger Butte and in the Bigelow Bench area of Bridger Valley as part of its Mountain Wind 1 project.

A second phase of that project is under construction and will include the 38 more wind turbines, according to company plans.