Good News From N. AZ

Perrin Ranch Wind Farm in N. AZ. Owned by Nextera with a

power purchse agreement with Arizona Public Service utility.

This morining I received an email with great news from Linda Webb the head of the local wind opposition group out of Williams, AZ.  Yesterday in Flagstaff the Coconino County Board of Supervisors and the Planning and Zoning Commisioners held a work session on wind development for the County as part of the energy element to their comprehensive plan.  Arizona Public Service, one of the large electric utilities that services AZ was a presenter and dropped a bomb shell.  They just put up one 62 turbine wind farm called the Perrin Ranch Wind Complex near Williams in our county, but say they have NO plans for at least the next decade to be involved in wind energy in AZ.  They said that wind energy in AZ does not meet peak demand, which is in June July and August, (hot desert temps and air condidtioning) it is unreliable, and it is not cost effective.

Linda said the supervisors were stunned, the P and Z people were stunned, and representative from N. AZ University were stunned. They of course had all bought into the wind energy hoopla and could not figure out the obvious right in front of their faces with reems of research.  Linda's reaction was DUUUHHHH...what do you think we have been trying to tell you for 2 years!!!!

What I understand from Linda is that because APS wanted to raise rates they basically had to show to the AZ Corporation Commision that they had a committment to renwewable energy.  In other words it was forced on APS as a political move to satisfy the green political hoopla, not a scientific solution.  Now they have done their wind farm committment and they can now tell the truth about wind energy.

AZ Public Service is the largest electric utility in AZ and services 11 of 15 counties, and 1.1 million customers, and apparently they now get it that wind energy is a waste of time and money.  They are not exactly a NIMBY organization! They have to deal with the realities of electric energy supply and demand and  real energy economics.