Wind farm plan remains unresolved

By CLARK CORBIN ccorbin@postregister.com

After nearly seven hours of discussion, a Wednesday meeting over a proposed wind farm east of Idaho Falls ended without any decision on the project.

At about 1:15 a.m. Thursday, Planning and Zoning commissioners concluded the public hearing on the proposal and opted to continue the meeting on a later date, Commissioner Russ Donahoo said.

Assistant Bonneville County Planner Suzanne Stoddard said the meeting has been tentatively scheduled to resume Aug. 25 at the Bonneville County Courthouse. But because several other hearings are also pending on that date, Stoddard said the exact time of the meeting will not be determined until today.

When the meeting resumes, commissioners will have the opportunity to discuss the project and vote on a use permit being sought by developers.

Seattle-based Ridgeline Energy wants to build a wind farm with as many as 75 turbines along both sides of 115th East. The wind project would be located on approximately 11,000 acres. It would cost as much as $300 million and create 170 temporary construction jobs, Ridgeline project manager Randy Gardner said.

Wednesday night's hearing attracted an audience of about 60, and more than a dozen people spoke, some for and some against the project.

Proponents said eastern Idahoans should continue harnessing wind as an alternative energy source. Those opposed said the project would lower residents' property values, obstruct countryside views and/or harm native birds and wildlife.

"My concern is over the effect on property values, both short term and long term," Idaho Falls real estate agent Jeff Metcalf said. "The question is, how much money are we going to lose because of these windmills?"

Donahoo declined to comment on the merits of the project, saying discussing the proposal outside of a public forum would violate commission rules.

Trent Talbot, whose family farms land where the project would be built, said he weighed the project for years and concluded that Ridgeline was a "land-friendly" company that would develop a responsible project.

Ridgeline is also a partner in the Goshen North Wind Farm, currently under construction south of where the new project would be built.

If the wind farm use permit is approved, Ridgeline officials would then seek to sell the energy to a utility company and apply for building permits for each of the turbines, Gardner said. The company hopes to begin construction some time in 2011, he said.