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Show tEhe Page C4 ffilur ZEtmcs-Ittbepetthg- nt Moab Folk Festival is 100 percent wind powered: first for its type Blue Sky Business Participant List PacificorpUtah Power commend the following businesses and government agencies for their support of renewable energy, and thank them for their purchase of Blue Sky. by Jeannine Wait contributing writer This years second Moab Visionaries: City of Moab Folk Festival on November 5, 6 and 7 will once again be 100 percent wind powered as a result of a generous sponsorship by Synergy, Inc. Organizer Melissa Schmaedick says that to her knowledge it is the first and only folk music festival in the United States to be completely wind powered. While last years wind power commitment offset the festivals energy usage as well as carbon dioxide created by artist travel to the festival, this years festival aims to increase its commitment by additionally offsetting carbon emissions equivalent to all the created by pollution festivarians travel to Moab. This feat will contribute positively to the overall health and recreational appeal of this The Synergy Company Champions: " Arches Book Co., Inc, Arches National Park Back of Beyond Books Canyon Voyages Adventure Co. Canyonlands National Park Castle Valley Inn Coldwell Banker. .y Country Clean CarWash Supporters: Moab Area Chamber of Commerce Moab Information Center Moab Moonflower Market Outward Bound Moab St. Francis Episcopal Church ng Expeditions Hmes-Independ- ent Tag-A-Lo- Home on the Range " , Ancient Images ' International Adventure Tours Atomic Hair Keogh Land Surveying Lost River Trading Co. Moab Rim Camp Park Poison Spider Bicycles ; Banditos Grill . j Barbara Hicks, CPA Best Western Canyonlands Inn Central Utah Insurance Certified Ford Chile Pepper Bike Shop Ecology Project International Eddie McStifTs Brewery Quintstar Management Co. Red Rock Bakery and Cafe Rim Tours, Inc Siickrock Cycles Sunflower Hill B&B Inn Tom Till Gallery Top of the World Cydery Ekiecti Cafe and gas based economy, has a vested interest as fossil fuels diminish. This is of interest not only to environmentalists; it also makes good business recognize that achievement will be presented by the Environmental Protection Agency in a ceremony at the festival. To promote even more reduction of emissions, the festival organizers will encourage participants to walk the designated pathways the city will lay out between festival venues. Angel Rock Realty will be giving away key chain flashlights to aid festivarians in walking to their choice of lodging and restaurants as well. Like Schmaedick, festival performer and Master of Ceremony TR Ritchie believes the becomes more popular, marketing Moab as a locus for Green Power leadership will raise the areas profile as a desirable Schmaedick hopes the festival will help cus the growing national awareness on viable alternative energy sources on Moab. If Moabs goal of becoming the first Green Power Community in the nation is realized by October 15, the award to fo- environment is the legacy we leave our descendants. Wind power doesnt degrade the quality of ones life style and where one chooses to live. Ritchie likes the combination of the festival and wind power because both are community-drive- n events and will help increase community participation. So this year when the music moves you, forget the pass6 polluting cigarette lighter sign of appreciation and raise your key chain flashlight into the clean air to salute the wind powered music. LLC Emporium Zions First National Bank New technology may assist San Juan in producing Wind Power woes. We believe wind farms will work here, says Bruce Adams, chair ofthe Monticello Economic Development Com- by Lisa Church contributing writer Residents of Monticello often complain about the wind whipping across their stretch of northern San Juan County. But some local landowners and city officials now believe that annoyance could be the answer to their economic mission. Weve been pretty proactive in trying to work with people and get the word out that were moving forward on this. In recent years, county and city officials have joined a statewide Wind Working Group that is exploring the possibilities for wind farms in the state. The group also lobbies Utah legislators, urging them to create laws that will aid wind power development. Adams is also active in a heavy lobbying campaign to vEPA Ji Moab Public Radio 7 " energy industry in which Utah, with its large coal, oil 1 KZMU Daves Corner Market sources as a way to mitigate fossil fuel usage. She feels wind power offers an opportunity to develop a whole new destination. Footprints, Inc. 4 Melissa personally believes in alternative power eco-touris- m Eddie McStifTs Restaurant f 4 community. sense. As Jkg fflhttton --- Thursday, October 7, 2004 GREEN N POWER If PARTNERSHIP 1 GREEN POWER www.epa.govgreenpower - ENERGIZING get the San Juan County COMMUNITIES Commission to actively help develop wind power programs in the Monticello area. Meanwhile, PacifiCorp, the parent company of Utah Power, has visited Monticello landowners, and set up test towers at two cites in the area The U.S. EPA congratulates the environmental leadership of the City of Moab, Castle Valley, Pack Creek Ranch and Spanish Valley. We welcome these communities as the first U.S. EPA Green Power Community. Their green to determine whether Monticellos strong winds blow consistently enough to generate wind energy. Typically, wind farms are constructed in areas where wind speeds consistently average 16 miles per hour. Tests in Monticello show that the wind speeds average 13 miles per hour. But new technology is being developed that could harness wind power in areas where speeds are lower, and Adams believes Monticello will be ripe for development once that technology is up and running. What weve found thus far is that the wind is not quite steady enough to be en- power purchasing is supporting clean, renewable sources of electricity. First in the Nation EPA Gieen Power Communiiv 7 M- 3 ticing. - Its pretty gusty, Adams said.Were hopeful that new technology that can capture the lower speed winds on its way. Thats when were really going to be in the - W game. So far, one company has expressed interest in trying to develop wind energy in C 'i Monticello. Renewable Energy Systems, a United Kingdom-base- d company, has submitted a bid to develop and sell wind power from a Monticello site to PacifiCorp. It could take months for the Scottish-base- d electrical company to make a decision on the bid, but Adams is hopeful. In this game you have to find a buyer before you build the project. The fact that we have an established company interested is a huge plus, Adams said. Wind energy requires no water for creation, a huge bonus for Monticello, where water is scarce after six consecutive years of drought. If a wind power facility is established in Monticello, it could reap huge economic benefits for the community. Adams estimates that a wind farm producing 100 megawatts of power will create about 200 construction jobs, and six to eight permanent professional jobs paying as much as $50,000 each. The project could add $10 million annually in local tax revenues, and infuse another $10 million into local businesses. Adams bases his figures on actual revenue generated by an existing wind farm in Uintah County Wyoming. And while the immediate outlook for a Monticello wind farm is unclear, Adams believes the project will become a reality. We think that within three years, the technology and the collection of the date will be in place, he said.Then we can get some- thing going. In his dreams, Adams sees the day when Monticello provides wind energy for the en- tire region. If Moab is aiming to become the first Green Power Community in the nation, then our goal is to provide them with all that power, he said. It would be a winning situation for everybody. - Do your part for Blue Sky! W 7 Join The and other 100 percent Blue Sky businesses. Times-lndepende- I Be proud. ( nt First in the Nation KPA Green Power Community |