Wind, solar potential in county unrealized

Arizona may be known as the land of the sun. But Mike Boyd would rather tap its potential for wind, by building a wind farm in the state’s far northwestern corner.

“There are some places in Mohave County that have wind-speeds that would qualify as a utility-scale site,” said Boyd, a former Pima County supervisor and now vice president of development for Western Wind Energy Corporation. “Mohave is probably the best of all the counties as a potential area for a wind-energy facility.”

Currently there is no wind power at all in Arizona, and the state’s power comes almost entirely from coal, nuclear, natural gas and hydropower. Yet surging electricity needs in the state, combined with rising concerns over the contribution of carbon emissions to global warming, have made wind power an increasingly realistic option for the state’s energy mix.

“We would like to see Mohave County become a renewable energy focal point for the state of Arizona,” said Boyd. “We think it has great potential for both wind and solar.”

Sparsely populated Mohave County has the state’s windiest areas, and could be ripe for a wind farm, with dozens of mostly silent 300-foot turbines spinning slowly in the breeze — and sending affordable, zero-emission energy into the grid.

The benefits of wind over solar power are in the dollars and cents. As opposed to solar energy, which costs between $16 to $20 per megawatt hour, wind supplies electricity at about half that cost, making it cost-competitive with natural gas.

Yet major obstacles remain before wind projects in the county can get off the ground. The state lacks an incentive program or tax breaks to encourage the development of alternative energy projects such as wind farms. And while the state’s Corporation Commission has implemented an “renewable energy standard” requiring the state’s utilities to provide 15 percent of electricity from renewable sources by 2021, some utilities have found that it is cheaper to look outside the state for renewable energy than to fund projects in Arizona.

Arizona Public Service is one utility that has taken criticism for funding a wind project in New Mexico and geothermal project in Utah, rather than building projects in-state.

“We have a responsibility to our ratepayers to get the most affordable, reliable electricity we can find,” said Steven Gotfried, spokesman for APS. “If northern Arizona wind could offer that to us, more than other types of renewables, then we would fully embrace it.”

Kris Mayes, a member of the Arizona Corporation Commission, has called for utilities like APS to find a way to fund renewable projects within the state.

“One of the things that we hoped would happen when we passed the renewable energy standards, is that it would help create good-paying, high-technology jobs in Arizona—not New Mexico,” Mayes said.

The funds that utilities are using to finance out-of-state energy projects are derived from Arizona ratepayers, who each pay a monthly surcharge. In 2008, those funds are projected to amount to $50 million.

“This is money that could go towards building wind projects in Mohave County, and it’s not happening,” Mayes said. “This is ratepayer money, and I think people have the right to have their money spent in Arizona.”

Other hurdles for renewable energy exist in the county as well.

According to Mohave County Supervisor Buster Johnson, even if Mayes were successful in persuading Arizona utilities to build wind projects in Mohave County, he would not support their construction.

“I don’t think the benefit is there, with jobs that will help our people,” Johnson said.

Johnson also stated that he opposed wind farms because they would fail to generate any tax revenue for the county. “The taxes would be a big concern of mine,” he said. “The tax revenue is what we need to survive on. If we start giving these people hundreds of acres for free without paying taxes, we are hurting ourselves more than we’re gaining by the production of renewable energy.”

Yet Johnson’s contention that renewable energy projects such as wind farms do not contribute property taxes to county coffers is only partially correct. Only projects located on federal land would be exempt from county taxes, while projects build on state or private land would be subject to taxation.

With the Bureau of Land Management charging a 3 percent royalty fee for power projects on its land, there would be no incentive for energy companies to build on public, rather than private lands, said Boyd. Furthermore, a 30-megawatt wind farm could result in 100 high-paying construction jobs, and about 10 permanent service jobs.

Also, private landowners who lease their land for the use of wind turbines can earn up to $5,000 per year for each turbine on their property. Such revenues have contributed to ailing rural economies in states such as Texas and New Mexico.

The construction of wind farms will not adversely impact existing, fossil fuel plants, such as the 600-megawatt Griffith Power Plant near Kingman, which burns natural gas, said Amanda Ormond, coordinator for the state Wind Working Group.

“This isn’t coal or natural gas versus wind,” she said. “At this point in Arizona’s energy situation, we need all the resources we can get. We are growing so fast that we need to add one power plant the size of Griffith every year for the next ten years to meet our load growth.”

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