Our View: It's time to develop wind power's potential

America cannot drill its way out of an energy crisis, and Idaho cannot dam its way out of its own power shortages.

So the state's preeminent utility is quietly but wisely rethinking a power portfolio built largely on hydroelectricity. Idaho Power has set an aggressive goal, which we hope materializes: By next year, it could derive 12 percent of its electricity from wind.

It's time for us all to follow this lead and rethink our assumptions about power. Wind generation is on its way. That means electricity will cost more, and will be produced along hillsides and high desert heretofore untouched by large power generating sites and towering transmission systems.

This discussion is beginning, but in fits and starts. In a Statesman guest opinion in January, Gov. Butch Otter's energy czar used a turn of wordplay to softpedal the power of wind. "Based on greenhouse gas realities, and the fact that renewables such as wind, solar and geothermal are not yet ready to meet our large-scale needs," said Paul Kjellander, director of the state's Office of Energy Resources, "our resource options are limited to the three 'N's' - nuclear, natural gas, or nothing."

Actually, it isn't just Idaho Power that takes a more optimistic view of wind power. From the Office of Energy Resources' Web site comes this analysis: "Idaho ranks 13th in the nation for its wind power development potential. Select areas of Idaho are highly suitable for wind development projects."

Those most suitable areas, as geography would have it, include some of the most desolate areas of the state. Five rural counties - Custer, Lemhi, Cassia, Owyhee and Idaho - account for 54 percent of the state's wind power potential, according to an analysis posted at the Office of Energy Resources web site.

These counties are also struggling with the transition from its traditional industries, so wind power could bring some much-needed economic development. Four of these five counties have actually lost population since 2000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau; Owyhee County, the lone exception, has grown by a mere 1.8 percent.

The potential of wind power, far from fully realized, tops out at 18,000 megawatts statewide. To put it in context, Idaho Power now has contracts for more than 360 megawatts of wind power.

It should be little surprise that Idaho Power has turned its attention to wind power; the utility cannot afford to rule out any clean power that could help meet a growing demand. Idaho Power now serves 480,000 customers and anticipates adding 12,500 to 13,000 customers per year over the next 20 years.

The advent of wind comes with some angst. Wind power is not like the cheap renewable resource that has been an Idaho Power staple - the utility's 17 hydroelectric plants. Idaho Power readily concedes that the cost of power from wind and other renewable sources, while decreasing, remains higher than the cost of power from big hydro dams.

While Idahoans have long debated the merits of hydro - and the impacts of hydro operations on fish and wildlife habitat - the debate over the aesthetics and environmental impact of wind operations is new for many Idahoans. Perhaps it shouldn't be a surprise that the debate doesn't yet follow predictable ideological lines.

In Eastern Idaho, Bingham County officials last week approved a wind farm in a 20,000-acre canyon over the vocal objections of some prominent critics: former state Sen. Stan Hawkins, a Republican; and Frank VanderSloot, a prominent GOP donor who is chief operating officer of Melaleuca Inc. and a landowner near the wind farm site.

In the Magic Valley, Department of Fish and Game regional manager David Parrish was demoted last week. One factor, according to The Times-News in Twin Falls, was Parrish's decision to write a letter to the editor criticizing the environmental impacts of a local wind farm proposal. The letter caught the eye of state Sen. Bert Brackett, R-Rogerson, and state Rep. Scott Bedke, R-Oakley.

This demotion sends a troubling signal under any circumstance, but especially as Idaho heads into a new era of power generation. It's time for a full discussion of the monetary costs and environmental implications. Everyone from a CEO to a local Fish and Game official needs to be heard.

"Our View" is the editorial position of the Idaho Statesman. It is an unsigned opinion expressing the consensus of the Statesman's editorial board. To comment on an editorial or suggest a topic, e-mail editorial@idahostatesman.com.