Tagged: wind

Three people accused of defrauding investors of more than $4 million by falsely claiming to be developing wind farms in Wyoming and South Dakota are set to stand trial in June.

U.S. District Judge Scott Skavdahl of Casper has scheduled a three-week trial starting June 3.
 

Defendants Robert Arthur Reed and Lauren Elizabeth Scott of Utah and Gregory Lee Doss of California are charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and conspiracy to launder money. Reed faces additional charges of mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering.
 

A University of Wyoming wind study shows that combining the wind resources of Wyoming and Colorado would benefit the Colorado energy grid. 

U-W Wind Energy Research Center Director Jonathan Naughton said that’s because wind in Colorado and Wyoming blows differently.  He said that if the resources are combined, it would make wind power more consistent.            

“It easier to integrate into the grid, saves in money that you don’t have to use for purchasing backup power that would likely come from gas turbine engines fired by natural gas.” 

A group of University of Wyoming researchers received $508,000 from NASA to study aerodynamics and wind resistance at Wyoming’s Supercomputing Center.

The U.S. Department of Energy reports that Wyoming has one of the highest capacities for wind power production in the country. But University of Wyoming Mathematics Professor Stefan Heinz says most wind farms aren’t arranged as efficiently as they could be. He says the wake of one turbine often disrupts the turbines around it, reducing efficiency.

Some in the wind energy industry have expressed concern that the wind production tax credit might expire at the end of the year. 

U.S. Senator John Barrasso says he shares that concern and blames the on-again, off-again nature of such tax credits on the lack of a federal energy policy. 

Gov. Matt Mead says he's continuing to push to try to change how Wyoming taxes wind energy projects despite a chilly reception to his proposals from some state legislators so far.

Wyoming's sales and use tax exemption on equipment used on wind energy projects expires in January 2012. The state will also begin imposing a $1 per megawatt hour tax on wind energy production starting then.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is giving the public additional time to weigh in on a proposed wind power project near Rock Springs.

The BLM also is holding a public meeting on the Quaking Aspen wind project. That meeting is scheduled for 5 p.m. Monday at the Holiday Inn in Rock Springs.

The BLM announced Tuesday that a public comment period originally set to end Wednesday is now being extended until Dec. 27.

Evergreen Wind Power Partners proposes to put up to 100 wind turbines in an area 11 miles southeast of Rock Springs.