Idaho House panel rejects wind power moratorium | Idaho Legislature | Idaho Statesman
BOISE, Idaho — A House panel on Tuesday took the wind out of the sails of those demanding a moratorium on wind power development in Idaho.
In an 11-8 vote, the House State Affairs Committee rejected a proposal to ban new turbine projects for two years.
Idaho Falls Republican Rep. Erik Simpson was pushing the moratorium on behalf of residents of his eastern Idaho city and surrounding Bonneville County who are unhappy with dozens of turbines that have been erected, some just a mile or so from their houses. Utilities including Avista Corp. also backed the ban, saying the difficulty of integrating wind power into their electricity systems is driving up customers' rates.
Representatives who voted against the moratorium Tuesday conceded rapid development of Idaho wind farms was creating some concerns, but they concluded a decision to take a breather on new projects was best left to local county commissions. Rep. Ken Andrus, R-Lava Hot Springs, said he feared a moratorium would be an industry-killing message to companies to blow past Idaho in favor of neighboring and equally blustery states like Wyoming that don't have such restrictions.
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I don't think wind, solar, wave, or any other form of power are going to be as consequenceless as we think they are, but I do think some will be less problematic than others, and the effects of all of them can be mitigated by spreading our consumption across many forms.
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