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Oct. 12, 2010
Blue Sky Customers Tour Spanish Fork Wind Farm
I’ve visited several wind farms in Wyoming and have always enjoyed the experience. But until recently, I had never been to the Spanish Fork Wind Park, Utah’s first commercial-scale wind project. Located in Utah County’s breezy Spanish Fork Canyon, its nine 265-foot turbines are estimated to produce more than 55 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. According to project owner Edison Mission Energy, that’s equivalent to the amount of energy needed to power about 6,100 typical Utah homes per year.
I tagged along with a group of Rocky Mountain Power customers on a tour arranged by our Blue Sky renewable energy program. Blue Sky customers helped make the wind farm a reality by supporting most of the renewable energy certificates from the facility for five years. Watch the Tour Video!
The wind project was developed by a Utah-based company, Wasatch Wind, and began commercial operation in 2008. Rocky Mountain Power has a 20-year agreement to purchase all of the energy it produces, to help serve customers’ growing electricity needs. Here’s another online video I came across from when project construction was nearing completion.
Rick said the American Wind Energy Association ranks Utah 26th in the United States for potential wind energy capacity. According to EPA calculations, the renewable electricity generated by the Spanish Fork project avoids the emission of more than 115 million pounds of carbon dioxide, nearly 88,000 pounds of sulfur dioxide and nearly 242,000 pounds of nitrogen oxides, each year. That’s providing the same environmental benefit as taking 11,377 cars off the road for a year.
Additionally, the wind farm provides economic benefit to Spanish Fork City, Utah County, Nebo School District and the Central Utah Water Conservancy district in the form of ongoing property tax revenues.
When we arrived at the site, I was impressed with what I saw. The canyon’s scenic mountains covered in autumn leaves created a beautiful backdrop for the wind farm. Everyone was able view the turbines at their own pace and ask questions of the several representatives on hand. We even had the opportunity to step inside the base of one tower and gaze up from an entirely different perspective.
The only slight disappointment was the lack of wind blowing that day. I’m told when the sky gets dark the Spanish Fork turbine blades really start humming, with southeasterly canyon winds at night considered to be among the most reliable winds in the nation.
With all of its benefits, the intermittent nature of wind is one of its great challenges for energy production. In general, wind projects generate electricity about 1/3 of the time. Wind energy developers take a site’s specific characteristics into account when determining a project’s feasibility.
We’ve had quite a bit of experience in recent years with integrating cost-effective wind energy into our mix of generating resources, and we’ve learned a lot. Since 2006, the company has built 12 new wind farms in windy Wyoming and the Pacific Northwest. We also purchase electricity from many wind farms owned by others, as is the case with the Spanish Fork project.
Separately, the company’s voluntary Blue Sky program provides an easy and convenient way for customers to support even more wind energy in the region, and community-based renewable energy projects in the communities we serve. Residential and business customers can make a difference for as little as $1.95 per month.
There’s usually no shortage of opinions and questions when it comes to renewable energy. What do you think about all of the wind projects being built? What questions do you have about renewable energy?
- Jeff
