Kanab Planning and Zoning revokes Viresco's Conditional Use Permit

The Kanab Planning and Zoning Commission formally revoked the Conditional Use Permit (CUP) Viresco Industries Jim Guthrie obtained on November 22, 2010, to construct an experimental coal gasification plant on the south side of town. Viresco failed to act on Provisions 3-7 of the CUP in a timely manner, and no activity at the site had occurred in well over a year. Southern Utah News

New transmission line slated for Beaver County

Milford will host an upcoming signing ceremony Monday between Beaver County, Rocky Mountain Power and the Bureau of Land Management-Cedar City Field Office. The signing authorizes the construction of a new 138,000-volt transmission line running 25-miles on public land from Cameron to Milford.

The new line will increase electric power capacity and enhance service reliability to Beaver County. Residents in the county currently rely on a single 46,000-volt transmission line. Currently, there is no set date for construction to start on the line, but there is hope it will begin to take shape late this fall or early spring 2015. St George News

Iron County Commission hears request for geothermal plant

A natural, hot-water well in New Castle could become the site of Iron County’s first geothermal power plant, according to discussion at the Iron County Board of Commissioner’s meeting. Pure Power has made a request to construct and operate a geothermal electrical generation facility near 275 S. 200 West in Newcastle. A well at that site pumps hot water. Pure Power is planning to build a two megawatt power production facility, with plans to increase production up to six times that amount in the future. The electricity for this project already has a buyer with Dixie Escalante Power Company, which provides electric utility services to approximately 15,000 customers in Southern Utah and Northern Arizona. The Spectrum

Solar farm fails to attract buyers in St. George

Myron Porter is proud to show off his three-bedroom home. He does what he can to save electricity. And he happily bought into his city's ambitious solar energy farm, built three years ago at a cost of $1 million. 

But Porter's decision to spend a sizable amount of money to support the city's solar energy project makes him a striking exception in St. George. Most residents have chosen not to participate in the solar farm, providing a snapshot into the collision between energy and pollution solutions, and a user's willingness to pay more for cleaner energy.

The reticence of St. George residents stems from the probability that buyers won't ever recover their initial investment through lower utility bills — unless other sources of electricity get far more expensive.

The unsold solar panels still generate electricity for the region's utility grid, so the city doesn't consider it a waste of money.

Porter believes he's doing his part to get a clean energy source off the ground, even if it's not cost-effective today. "With any new industry, it's never practical, because they have to buck the established systems," he said.

The price for solar photovoltaic — installed solar PV, — has decreased in the past year about 50 percent, according to Baldwin. "That's a precipitous decline that obviously translates to better economics for everybody. That trend we expect to continue."

 "As more people go solar, the price per installed kilowatt will continue to decrease and be more cost effective."

Sara Baldwin, senior policy and regulatory associate at Utah Clean Energy, said there will be a point the the future when solar energy is competitive with utility grid prices.  That price point is what ultimately may attract users to cleaner energy. Deseret News

Energizing the future

The Southwest Utah Renewable Energy Center hosted the fourth annual Milford Renewable Energy Fair on Thursday at Milford High School.

The fair featured approximately 35 booths and displays where businesses, nonprofit organizations and government agencies provided visitors with a diverse array of information about renewable energy and other environmental topics.

SUTREC Coordinator Jake Hartman said his organization chose Milford as the site for the annual fair because the city is considered to be a central location for renewable energy as a result of its close proximity to a wind farm and two geothermal plants. The Spectrum

4th Annual Milford Renewable Energy Fair

The 4^th Annual Milford Renewable Energy Fair will take place on April 26^th.  Sponsored by the Southwest Utah Renewable Energy Center (SUTREC), the fair is expected to attract 900 people from all across Utah and Nevada to Milford, Utah. The highlight of the fair is an electric vehicle endurance race that pits high school student teams against each other in a battle of engineering, science and driving skill

As the home of First Wind’s Milford Wind Project, the Blundell Geothermal plant, the Cyrq Energy Geothermal plant and Utah’s first hydroelectric power plant, Beaver County and the City of Milford is a logical choice to host the energy fair.

The Milford Fair also includes over 40 vendors displaying the latest in renewable energy, energy efficiency, biomass and alternative fuel technologies including several natural gas and electric powered vehicles.

Universities, government agencies, energy industry leaders, students and scientists will all have displays to educate the public on the latest advances in renewable energy and energy efficiency.
The event will begin at 9 am on April 26^th at Milford High School in Milford, Utah. Booth displays will be open until 2:30 pm with the electric car race beginning at 11 am.

Attendance is free, and the public is encouraged to participate and learn more about the future of renewable energy in Utah.

For those who are unable to attend the event in person, Utah Public Radio as well as 95.9 KZHK will both be broadcasting live from the Milford RE Fair from 9 a.m. to noon.

The fair is made possible through support from: First Wind, Rocky Mountain Power, Utah Department of Workforce Services, Salt Lake Community College, Utah Office of Energy Development, Cyrq Energy, Beaver County, enXco, UAMPS, Milford Chamber of Commerce, USTAR and SUTREC. Funding support for the both the fair and SUTREC Energy Education Trailer has been provided by the U.S. Department of Labor. Utah Policy

Kanab Appeals Officer upholds permit to Viresco Energy

The Kanab Appeals Officer has denied an appeal by the Taxpayers Association of Kane County (TPA) challenging the Kanab City Planning Commission’s issuance of a conditional use permit to Viresco Energy. The permit allows Viresco to exceed the height limitations in the M-2 zone for two smokestacks, if the applicant meets seven conditions. The conditions cover areas such as emissions, appearance, safety, and removal of the smokestacks if operations cease. Southern Utah News

Taxpayers’ group suffers setback in quest to stop Kanab plant

A state court has thrown out a lawsuit filed by the Taxpayers Association of Kane County that challenged the approval of a proposed experimental hydro-gasification plant in Kanab. Still pending is an appeal to the Kanab City appeals officer on a conditional use permit granted by the Planning Commission on the height of the plant’s two smokestacks. The maximum height is 67 feet, plus additional footage for a flare enclosure.

The proposed plant will experiment with a process for turning coal, bio fuels and other materials — from vegetation to tires — into methane gas that could be used to generate electricity when burned. California-based Viresco Energy has applied to build the plant on a leased tract of School and Institutional Trust Lands in Kanab. The proposal says the plant would burn just a small amount of coal during its tests. Salt Lake Tribune

2nd Milford wind project online

First Wind, a U.S.-based wind energy company, announced Monday that the construction of the 102-megawatt Milford Wind Corridor Phase II — Milford II — project has been completed and commercial operations have begun. The project is located north of the 204 MW Milford I project. Together, the projects, sited in Millard and Beaver counties, are the two largest wind energy developments in Utah.

Under a power purchase agreement with Southern California Public Power Authority, power generated by Milford II is being supplied to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power as well as Glendale Water and Power in California. Deseret News

3rd phase of Milford wind project proposed

A pair of meetings hosted by the Bureau of Land Management are set for mid-month to solicit comments from the public on the planned expansion of the Milford Wind Corridor project.

Phase III proposes to build a wind energy facility 45 miles south of Delta that could include up to 300 wind turbine generators, in addition to an underground power collection system, a connector road system and an operation and maintenance facility.

FirstWind's Phase I, already completed, has 97 turbines generating 204 megawatts and Milford II, at its completion, will have 68 turbines to generate 102 megawatts. John Lamontange, spokesman for the Boston-based company, said so far 22 turbines are up as part of Phase II, with another dozen or so towers installed. "The second phase is moving along well," he said. "We hope to have it online," by late spring or early summer of this year.

The company has power purchase agreements in place with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and Southern California Public Power Authority for the first and second phase. No agreements have been penned yet for the third phase, or possible later phases of the project.

The Milford Wind Corridor is Utah's largest wind energy project — and when the second phase is complete the corridor will generate a combined 306 megawatts, making it one of the largest wind energy projects in the West. Deseret News

Power plant proposal given approval

The proposal to build a gas-fueled power plant near Sigurd was approved by the Sevier County Commission in a 2-1 vote. The plant developers’ next steps are to obtain an air quality permit and a larger natural gas line. Nevco representative Bruce Taylor said the company has already had preliminary meetings with the Utah Division of Air Quality, as well as Questar Gas to discuss both. “It will take roughly six months,” Taylor said of the air quality permit. He said the company is working with the DAQ to determine what it needs to do to secure a permit. Richfield Reaper

Pilot plant for cleaner fuels planned for Kanab

Jim Guthrie is not an alchemist, but if a pilot plant the entrepreneur plans for this southeastern Utah city is successful, he will be selling technology that can turn coal, wood and other carbon-based material into natural gas and products ranging from fertilizer to ammonia.

Guthrie said he became interested in locating the plant in Kanab after buying a ranch north of the city. He’s hoping a proposed nearby mine would provide the needed coal. Alton Coal Co., has been granted permits to start mining high-quality coal on private property it owns near the town of Alton.

In late October, the Kanab City Council approved a zoning change on 10 acres of land in the southern end of the city for Guthrie to start construction of the plant he hopes to complete as early as June. Guthrie said the plant would be built on land leased from the state’s School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA). Guthrie said the plant would require as many as 60 construction workers and be staffed by eight researchers. Salt Lake Tribune

Russian company may get Utah town and uranium

By year’s end, the Russian mining company Atomredmetzoloto (ARMZ) will have a controlling stake in the Canadian company Uranium One. When that happens, the town of Ticaboo, the Shootaring Canyon uranium mill a few miles up the highway, and more than 10,000 acres of uranium claims in Utah and holdings in South Dakota, Wyoming and Texas will be in the portfolio of ARMZ’s parent company, Rosatom, the Russian nuclear agency, which last month provided fuel for Iran’s nuclear power plant.

The pending sale is stirring up interest everywhere from Ticaboo’s dirt driveways to the shiny corridors of the U.S. Capitol, where four members of Congress last week said the deal might threaten national security and should be stopped. The Salt Lake Tribune

Alton Coal clears another hurdle

Alton Coal Development appears to have only one thing stopping them from commencing mining 10 miles southeast of Bryce Canyon National Park - a public hearing on their air quality permit. The final hurdle before the coal mining company begins operations was cleared after the Sept. 15 legal notice of intent for an air quality permit was issued by the Executive Secretary of the Utah Air Quality Board, pending a 30-day public comment period. An engineering evaluation and air quality impact analysis done for the permit process found the proposed strip-mine development project meets federal and state air quality rules and regulations. The 30-day public comment period began Sept. 15. If no issues arise in the comment period the permit would be approved and the mine could be up and running by mid-October.

"There will be steps before we can start mining coal," Coal project manager, Chris McCourt said, noting some infrastructure in the mine would need to be built before the mine can formally begin operating. "There would be some steps first, but we would start those steps immediately (after the comment period)."
The initial stages of mining will slowly roll out a smaller number of highway-approved tractor-trailers transporting coal from Alton to Intermountain Power Agency's plant near Delta. The number of trucks could eventually expand to as many as 300 coal trucks per day passing through Panguitch and other towns on state Route 89.The Spectrum

Alton Coal closer to mining in So. Utah

The Utah Board of Oil, Gas and Mining decided to uphold Alton Coal Company's permit for the Coal Hollow Mine in Kane County. The company estimates when at full production, it could generate about 150 new jobs with trucking and mining operations and even more indirect jobs in Southern Utah. The Spectrum

Groups question permit for Utah's first strip mine

Utah regulators testified they used the best science and technology to evaluate the environmental impacts of the state's first strip mine for coal. Environmental groups are seeking to block the project, saying the strip mine would pollute ground water, raise dust and foul air quality 10 miles from Bryce Canyon National Park, which is known for its views, pristine air and sparkling night skies. Bryce Canyon's superintendent also has objected. The Sierra Club, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance and two other groups are challenging the state's approval for the strip mine in an administrative trial.

Alton Coal Development got fast-track approval after complaining in a meeting with Utah Gov. Gary Herbert that regulators were taking too long to make a decision.

The company got approval to work a 635-acre parcel of private land, or about 1 square mile, near the tiny Kane County town of Alton, about 200 miles south of Salt Lake City. The strip mine would dig into 440 of the 635 acres to remove a 20-foot seam of coal. Alton is seeking federal approval to enlarge the strip mine onto thousands of acres of surrounding public lands where the coal seam continues. The company has yet to secure a multimillion-dollar reclamation bond to start work on the private land. The Deseret News

Washington City Council updated on wind power project

Two years ago, Washington City became a part of a wind power project, the Horse Butte Wind Project. Officials gave an update on the project to the city council. The area plotted for the turbines is 15 miles east of Idaho Falls, Idaho, which has more than 7,000 acres of land under contract. The project is owned by Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems. The cost of the total project is $230 million. The city has 2.72 percent ownership based on existing entitlement shares. The project will to cost the city $2.3 million. Carlson said it is a 100-megawatt project. Depending on who is con­tracted there could be a range of 47 to 65 turbines. Washington City is already participating in wind power with turbines located in Wyoming. The Spectrum

St. George Solar farm to double in size

Bids are out for construction of the second phase of St. George's SunSmart solar facility, which could more than double the output of the 100-kilowatt facility. Using $190,000 allocated to the city as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the plan is to build up to another 150 kilowatts of capacity at SunSmart, which has been recognized as a unique attempt to help the public get involved with renewable energy. The solar farm, developed as a way to take advantage of the area's average of more than 310 days of sunlight per year, produces only a fraction of the power used in the city, but received much acclaim over the past year from groups pursuing more renewable energy options.The solar farm, a joint-project between the city and Dixie Escalante Power offers residents a chance to buy into solar without putting panels on their homes. The Spectrum