Dear Friends,
Strange things have happened since our last update a little over a month ago.
WASATCH/ROCKY MOUNTAIN POWER "PPAs"
Wasatch Wind announced in a press release on July 13 (see below) that it has entered with Rocky Mountain Power two power purchase agreements (PPAs), each providing that the power company will buy 50 megawatts of the electricity Wasatch hopes to generate at what it now calls its "Pioneer Wind Park" industrial development in the Boxelder/Mormon Canyon area of the Northern Laramie Range.
We have no idea what are the other terms of these deals, but they are strange for two reasons:
1. Wasatch said in its press release that it had forced Rocky Mountain Power to sign the PPAs for its 100+ megawatt, 30,000-acre, industrial project under the provisions of a Carter-era federal law that obligates utilities to buy renewable energy from "small" power production facilities.
2. The second strange feature of these deals is that Rocky Mountain Power's legal obligation to purchase small-facility renewable energy only requires it to pay "avoided cost," which is the amount it would have to pay to purchase the same amount of power from its ordinary sources. Rocky Mountain Power, in a filing with the Wyoming Public Service Commission (attached), has said that its "avoided cost" figure is only around $14 – $35 per megawatt hour for the next several years, before it jumps sharply starting in 2014, and it only applies, according to the filing, to the first 10 mw of power generated. Since Wasatch has been silent on the price in the PPAs, it is impossible at this point for the public to know whether these agreements are meaningful except as a public relations gambit on Wasatch's part.
We are seeking clarification on these points from Rocky Mountain Power, and pursuing the matter with federal and state authorities. We will report as we have more information.
P&Z VOTES TO RECOMMEND CANCELLING THE CLARION ENGAGEMENT AFTER SURVEY RESULTS SHOWED OVERWHELMING OPPOSITION TO WIND IN THE MOUNTAINS
In a bizarre turn of events in its meeting of July 20, the Converse County Planning & Zoning Commission (P&Z), voted to recommend to the County Commission that it cancel the County's engagement with the Denver land use consultants (Clarion Associates) it had engaged (at a cost of $60,000) to advise it on wind-energy development policy. This happened after P&Z received the results of Clarion's survey (attached), which showed overwhelming support for limiting industrial wind energy development in the mountains. Clearly, these results – and the direction in which the Clarion engagement was heading – are inconvenient for P&Z members who repeatedly have balked at adopting the simple solution desired by the vast majority of Converse County citizens: keep industrial wind development out of the mountains.
The next meeting of the County Commissioners, when they will consider the P&Z recommendation, is August 3-4. We'll send details when we have them. IN THE MEANTIME, START CALLING THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS TO LET THEM KNOW THAT YOU WANT THEM TO COMPLETE THE CLARION ENGAGEMENT AND PAY ATTENTION TO THE RESULTS OF THE SURVEY. HERE ARE THE COMMISSIONERS' COORDINATES:
Mailing address:
c/o Ms. Lucile Taylor, County Clerk
107 North 5th St.
Suite 114
Douglas, WY 82633
Ed Werner (307) 358-4119
Mike Colling (307) 436-9212
Dave Edwards (307) 358-1169
Tony Lehner (307) 436-2208
Jim Willox (436) 358-2696
WASATCH AGAIN DEFERS ITS APPLICATION FOR USE OF STATE LANDS IN THE BOXELDER/MORMON CANYON AREA
Wasatch has applied to use nearly 3,000 acres of state land as part of its proposed industrial development in the mountains south of Glenrock. We reported last month that it had asked the State Land Board to postpone the hearing on this application until the Board's meeting in the first week of August. It again has requested postponement, which would move the date into October.
Best regards,
The NLRA Steering Committee
The following documents are referenced in this article:
Wasatch Wind State Lands Application
http://www.nlralliance.org/downloads/wasatch_app.pdf
Wasatch Announcement of Power Purchase Agreements with Rocky Mountain Power
http://www.nlralliance.org/downloads/WasatchRelease7.13.2010.jpg
Rocky Mountain Power 'Avoided Cost' Filing with the Wyo Public Service Commission http://www.nlralliance.org/downloads/RMPwyoPURPApricing.pdf
Converse County/Clarion Wind Energy Questionnaire Results
http://www.nlralliance.org/downloads/SurveySummary_AllSurveys.pdf
Questionnaire Question 5 Responses
http://www.nlralliance.org/downloads/SurveySummary_TypedAnswers_Question5.pdf
Questionnaire Question 6 Responses
http://www.nlralliance.org/downloads/SurveySummary_TypedAnswers_Question6.pdf
Questionnaire Question 10 Responses\n
<a http://www.nlralliance.org/downloads/SurveySummary_TypedAnswers_Question10.pdf
Questionnaire Question 11 Responses
http://www.nlralliance.org/downloads/SurveySummary_Typed=\nAnswers_Question11.pdf
Questionnaire Question 13 Responses
http://www.nlralliance.org/downloads/SurveySummary_TypedAnswers_Question13.pdf