What it took to build the Spanish Fork Wind Farm Clean Energy What it took to build the Spanish Fork Wind Farm By Troy Tucker 11/22/2016

What does it take to build a wind farm? Where do you build a wind farm? Who benefits from a wind farm? What are the negatives of wind energy? What are the positives of wind energy?

The first wind farm in the state of Utah was built in Spanish Fork City. A brief video of the wind mill farm in Spanish Fork. Spanish Fork Wind Farm

It only took 3 months to actually build the nine wind mills, but it was years in the making.

Wind studies had to be done. Starting in the early 90’s, Windward Engineering started testing small residential wind turbines, near the mouth of Spanish Fork Canyon. By 2003 enough data had been collected, significant longitudinal data about the average speed, timing, and characteristics of nearby winds, determining that the location could be one of the best wind resources in the state. In 2008 the wind farm was completed and operational.

Several forms of government had to approve City Council- Approving of the wind mill site inside the city limits of Spanish Fork. County- Easements approved and purchased through property owned by Utah County to run the power lines to the Rocky Mountain Power substation in Mapleton. State Government- Negotiation of tax credits and who gets them.

Who Benefits from Wind Energy Everyone benefits from Wind Energy. We all want to do our part in saving the earth. Coal is our #1 source of electricity and developing more green energy programs will slow down the carbon footprint we as a society are leaving. The four main entities that benefited from the Spanish Fork Wind Farm tax credits were the Nebo School District with the largest portion at 77% and Spanish Fork City, Utah County and Central Utah Water Conservancy District Divvying up the remaining.

Where can Wind Farms be built? Windmill farms can be built almost anywhere, Oceans, Mountains and Open fields. As Long as the wind consistently blows between 7-12 mph.

Positives about Wind Energy Wind energy is a green energy source and does not cause pollution. The potential of wind power is enormous – 20 times more than what the entire human population needs. Wind power is renewable and there is no way we can run out of it (since wind energy originates from the sun). Wind turbines are incredible space-efficient. The largest of them generate enough electricity to power 600 U.S. homes. Wind power only accounts for about 2.5% of total worldwide electricity production, but is growing at a promising rate of 25% per year (2010). Prices have decreased over 80% since 1980 and are expected to keep decreasing. The operational costs associated with wind power are low. Good domestic potential: Residential wind turbines yields energy savings and protects homeowners from power outages.

Negatives about Wind Energy Wind is a fluctuating (intermittent) source of energy and is not suited to meet the base load energy demand unless some form of energy storage is utilized (e.g. batteries, pumped hydro). The manufacturing and installation of wind turbines requires heavy upfront investments, both in commercial and residential applications. Wind turbines can be a threat to wildlife. Noise is regularly reported as a problem by neighboring homes.

The Spanish Fork wind farm was the first in the state of Utah and has since been the blueprint for several others. Wind farms are a hot topic of debate and fuels many discussions. With the heavy push from our Federal government to develop cleaner energy those discussions will continue.

Works Cited Maehlum, Mathias Aarre “Wind Energy Pros and Cons” http://energyinformative.org/wind-energy-pros-and-cons/ Source: Hartman, Cathy L. Stafford, Edwin R. Reategui, Sandra. Volume 2 | Issue 3 | Page 42-50 | May 2011, Solutions magazine. Dark, Stephen. “Wind Farms: Green Guide” Salt Lake City Weekly, April 17th, 2013 By NewsRover, “Spanish Fork Wind Farm” 7/13/2010 http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=spanish+fork+wind+farm&view=detail&mi d=BA11094F35120B390B58BA11094F35120B390B58&FORM=VIRE