For Idaho, change is in the wind

Source: The Idaho Statesman, Boise)By Rocky Barker Â?, The Idaho Statesman, Boise


Jan. 16--Idaho's wind-power industry has risen in five years from almost nothing to producing hundreds of millions of dollars and the equivalent of enough electricity to power half of the Treasure Valley.


An industry that started with a single tinkerer's turbines west of Boise has grown to hundreds of turbines lining the windy ridgelines of the Snake River Plain, thanks to passage by the 2005 Legislature of a bill to give producers of alternative energy a rebate on the sales tax they pay on their equipment.

But that rapid growth has created opposition. Neighbors of wind farms in eastern Idaho say they're surprised, and often affected, by massive turbines and wind farms they have no say about. And utilities argue that they can't use all of the power being produced without increased costs for their customers.


The 2005 rebate law sunsets this year. Developers of wind, biomass and other renewable energy sources say the incentive's continuation is crucial to developing the homegrown power that creates jobs and brings taxes for counties and schools.

But opponents see the Legislature's consideration of the tax exemption's renewal as a choke point at which they can bring the industry under control.

"This will be one of the big fights of this session," said Roy Eiguren, an Idaho energy lobbyist representing wind developers.

BATTLE LINES DRAWN

Eiguren has a wide and diverse coalition on his side. It includes dairy farmers, the Idaho Cattle Association, the Idaho Farm Bureau and Adams County, all of which are seeking to develop biomass energy. Other allies are landfill power developers, solar power developers and Micron's Transform Solar offshoot.

But a group that formed in Bingham and Bonneville counties wants lawmakers to ensure that Idaho is getting its money's worth from the developers of wind energy, which are increasingly multinational corporations.

Idahoans for Responsible Wind Energy wants lawmakers to ensure that residents who live next to proposed wind farms get adequate notice and fair consideration for the impacts that the huge towers and turning blades have on their property values and quality of life.

"It's not just the visual impact," said Maureen Finnerty, a spokeswoman for Idahoans for Responsible Wind Energy. "It's about the money and whose wallet it's in."

But tax records provided by wind developers show they have paid $2.4 million in taxes to counties and schools from 2006 to 2010. If the sales tax rebate were not in place, the wind projects wouldn't have been built, said Rich Rayhill of Ridgeline Energy, a wind developer.