UTAH WILL WIRE WIND TO LA

Utah's biggest wind-energy project goes online; Milford facility's power output will go to S. California
Jasen Lee, November 10, 2009 (Deseret News)

"The 'green' energy wave has hit southwestern Utah…[T]he state's biggest wind-energy electricity-generation facility began commercial operation…[T]he first phase of the Milford Wind Corridor project features 97 wind turbines and is expected to generate 203.5 megawatts of electricity, making it the largest renewable-energy facility in Utah, according to…developer First Wind LLC…

"…[T]he largest utility-scale wind project had been a 19-megawatt, nine-turbine facility…that began operation in August 2008…Construction of the Milford project began just over a year ago. The first phase generated nearly $86 million in direct and indirect spending in Utah and the creation of 250 development and construction jobs…[It] will generate enough power to provide electricity to about 45,000 homes per year."

Does this demonstrate that the nation has the resources and all it needs is the wires? Or does it demonstrate that barriers to local transmission of distributed resources must be resolved?

"Eventually, the $400 million project will include 159 turbines across 40 square miles of public and private land…The project's power will go to the Southern California Public Power Authority, on behalf of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and the cities of Burbank and Pasadena, Calif. In December 2007, First Wind signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with the authority…

"The Milford Wind Corridor is the first wind-energy facility permitted under the Bureau of Land Management's Wind Energy Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Western U.S. states, designed to promote the development of renewable-energy projects on federal land…"