Sutrec.org

 

Southwest Utah Renewable Energy Center

(SUTREC)

 

Accomplishments List

 

Drafted by the SUTREC Steering Committee, August 2009

Updated September 2011 (note that accomplishments are in chronological order)

 

2009

 SUTREC Steering Committee organized and meeting monthly at Milford High School.

SUTREC Steering Committee chair selected.

Meteorological tower erected at Milford High School and collection of initial data.

Widely recognized—even by industry—that this initial data collection and availability attracted industry, including the now-operational First Wind project north of Milford.

Numerous renewable energy industry contacts, relationships and potential projects have followed and continue to develop.

Milford High School renewable energy curriculum being developed and it is now being delivered and tested at the High School.

Responsible for the crafting and successful adoption of Senate Joint Resolution 10, Alternative Training Center Joint Resolution, during the 2009 General Session of the Utah Legislature.  SJR 10 “supports establishing an Alternative Energy Training Center in Beaver County, UT,” thereby providing legislative recognition for and support to SUTREC.

First Annual SUTREC Renewable Energy Fair hosted (April 09) at Milford High School:

Hosted the Utah Renewable Energy Zone (UREZ) Task Force and numerous members of the Executive and Legislative branches of UT State government; including former Governor Jon M. Huntsman, Jr.;

Governor Huntsman signed Senate Joint Resolution 10, Alternative Training Center Joint Resolution in a ceremony at the fair.

Participation from numerous secondary and higher education institutions from across the state;

                Participation by numerous private and agency vendors;

                Fair included the successful Alternative Transportation Engineering Challenge car race.

 Second Annual SUTREC Renewable Energy Fair is now being planned for April 29, 2010.  A state-wide Renewable Energy Summit is being planned in partnership with the State Energy Office as part of the 2010 RE Fair.

2010

Wind turbine erected and operational at Milford Elementary School.  This successful elementary education renewable energy project has received national recognition and is a model being replicated across the country by the U.S. Department of Energy.

Renewable energy continuing education courses created and being delivered by the Southwest Applied Technology College (SWATC).  Existing courses include residential renewable energy and introduction to wind turbine technology.  New courses are being developed to be delivered at SUTREC in Milford and elsewhere.

The actual Center, as a component of SUTREC’s programming, has been named and is operational at Milford High School.  Progress towards the grand opening of the Center is being made.

Milford High School faculty and students are active with the creation and operation of the Center.  Faculty are being trained—both on-site by industry partners at local energy developments and through continuing education at conferences & workshops, etc.—in renewable energy technology and then delivering training and education to MHS students and visitors to the Center.

SUTREC Charter drafted and signed by the initial seven Partners.

First SUTREC Annual Plan crafted and approved by the Steering Committee.  This Annual Plan is now guiding the activities of the Steering Committee and Center.

Applications for grants and other funding awards have been written and submitted by SUTREC Partners.  Grants have been awarded to SUTREC for training, education and equipment for the Center, and a federal appropriations request to support SUTREC’s mission has been submitted.

SUTREC promotional materials have been created, including a logo, and numerous presentations have been made about SUTREC.

SUTREC marketing plan is currently being developed that will initially focus on updating existing promotional material and creating new print material

A SUTREC Web site has been developed and is being managed by Milford High School faculty & students.

Self-guided tour of Beaver County renewable energy sites is being developed by the SUTREC Steering Committee with the support and assistance of industry partners.

First SUTREC staff position is being developed with the goal of hiring a coordinator in 2010.

Three SUTREC working groups (“WG”) are organized and operating including the Renewable Energy Fair WG, Marketing WG, and Economic Opportunities WG.

On April 26, 2010 Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar visited Milford, UT and the SUTREC facilities at Milford High School including the 10kw custom solar tracker. Secretary Salazar praised Milford calling it a “success story on the New Energy Frontier.” He also stated that “we need to share Milford’s story with towns and cities across this country because it exemplifies how renewable energy resources can be transformed into a vital economic driver, generating good jobs and steady revenue for communities.”

 The Second Annual Renewable Energy Fair at Milford High School was even more successful. A freak April 29th snow storm dumped 4 inches of snow the morning of the event but over 650 individuals still attended including several high schools, 5 colleges/universities and industry leaders from all over Utah. The fair included 41 booth displays from industry leaders, state agencies, colleges and universities, the world’s only hybrid Le Manns race car and the award winning film “Wind Uprising”. Despite the snow, a solar electric car race was also held for 4 high schools. Dianne Nielson, Energy Advisor to Governor Herbert addressed the crowd. The fair was quite successful despite the last minute commute changing snow.

 2011

A Federal Appropriation through Senator Robert Bennett and Southern Utah University was funded for fiscal year 2010. Funding will go towards operating SUTREC for two years. The funding will also allow SUTREC to hire a full-time staff person.

SUTREC hired its first full-time staff person in February of 2011, SUTREC Coordinator Jake Hardman

Building upon the success of the two previous renewable energy fairs, the Third Annual Milford Renewable Energy Fair was the most successful to date. It was held on April 28, 2011 at Milford High School. 13 schools from across Utah participated in the days activities totaling 472 students at the event. Total attendance for the fair was estimated to be 750 individuals.

Thirty-four Booth display participants represented industry, government, academia and non-profit organizations. The booths included information about; solar, wind, geothermal, energy efficiency, biomass, natural gas vehicles, hybrid race car, small business services, federal, state and local government agencies, algae, solar cooking, green careers and more.

The fair included two student contests and three renewable energy demonstrations by Milford High School students.

Electric Vehicle Endurance Race- 1 hour

1^st- San Juan High School- 78 laps (~19.5 miles)

2^nd- Beaver High School- 56 laps (~14 miles)

3^rd- Milford High School- WD (broken sprocket at starting line)

Mini Wind Turbine Contest

1^st- Calan Olsen, Manti High- 1.236 volts

2^nd- Aaron Chamberlain, Panguitch High- .603 volts

3^rd- Mckaylee Craw, Milford High- .129 volts

Demonstrations held by Milford High students:

Hydropower unit

Solar Cook-off

RE ice-cream

Two breakout sessions included presentations on the history of wind power, its current state and the impact it has locally in Beaver County. Solar power was also discussed followed by a demonstration and discussion on thermal imaging. Attendance was approximately 500.

The energy tour hosted by GOED was attended by approximately 35 individuals. They visited Milford High School, RE Fair, Blundell Geothermal and the First Wind wind farm. Participants included government and industry leaders from the Salt Lake area.

The SUTREC Coordinator was able to raise $9,250 from local sponsors.

2011 RE Fair Sponsors

Rocky Mountain Power

Utah State Energy Program

First Wind

Dept. of Workforce Services

Salt Lake Community College

Governor’s Office of Economic Development

Beaver County

Redco

enXco

 

In the summer of 2011, the SUTREC Memorandum of Understanding was drafted and approved by the SUTREC Steering Committee. This document officially recognizes the partnership between the participating organizations and establishes the purposes, goals and values shared by the partners.

SUTREC Partners as of September 2011 include;

Beaver County

Beaver County School District (BCSD)

Department of Workforce Services (DWS)

Milford City

Milford High School (MHS)

                           Southwest Applied Technology College (SWATC)

Southern Utah University Business Resource Center (SUU BRC)

Southern Utah University- Regional Services (SUU)

Utah Science Technology and Research (USTAR)

 Funding from the SUU federal appropriation officially began on June 1, 2011 and will be available until June 2013.

The SUTREC Coordinator has been able to travel around the region presenting information about the SUTREC organization and gathering support from local county commissioners, city councils, industry leaders, academic administrators and community leaders. SUTREC continues to gather momentum and recognition in the region and in the State.

First Wind Cuts Ribbon on 203 MW Wind Project in Milford Utah

I moved to this area fifteen years ago to work for Circle Four Farms.  One of my most vivid memories of those first days in Milford occurred one spring.  I remember we had just completed the framing on a huge new farm building, the construction crew left for the day and shortly after, the wind came up and reduced the entire structure to a pile of rubble.  All we could do was adopt the philosophical view and state “you can’t do much about the wind. “  Within a few weeks we had the site cleaned up and reframed.  Milford has always been known as a windy spot.  On Tuesday November 10, 2009 First Wind flipped the switch and began sending the harnessed energy from the wind to consumers in southern California.

Tuesday was the culmination of eight years of effort by a whole host of people across the country beginning in Milford but spanning the entire nation from Los Angeles to Boston.  When one considers the financing, those involved in this project extend to several capitals in Europe. 

Row of GE 1.5 megawatt turbines photo used with permission First Wind and Doug Barnes Copyright 2009 All Rights Reserved.

Lt. Governor Greg Bell was on hand and spoke to the crowd “This project has generated nearly $86 million in direct and indirect spending in Utah and will continue to benefit the region,” Lt. Governor Bell noted. “Utah has tremendous potential for generating renewable power. This development primes Utah’s economic engine, while also protecting our environment. We’re pleased this project is online and look forward to the next phases of the project getting underway.”

However, the greatest aspect about this project was the involvement of students through Milford High School teacher Andy Swapp.  It is rare that a project this large and so many years in the planning can be completed without generating more controversy.  It is a credit to the Milford High School technology students and their teacher Andy Swapp for educating the entire community for the past eight years.

Some of the original "Wind Kids" at the ribbon cutting. Copyright 2009 Rob Adams all rights reserved.

There are so many aspects of this project that have roots in Milford.  Curtis Whitaker, an energy attorney in New Hampshire serves as legal counsel for First Wind.  Curt descends from the Milford Whitakers.  His aunt, Margaret Miller was on hand to comment to the group about Curt’s involvement.  Several years ago, Curt had a conversation with his mother Iola Whitaker about the need to find places to develop renewable wind energy across the country.  Iola asked the question “Why not Milford?”  Curt was introduced to Andy Swapp and as they say “the rest is history”.

Plaque reads: "In Appreciation of Iola E. Whittaker (MHS Class of 1958) Who Asked "Why Not Milford?"" Copyright 2009 Rob Adams all rights reserved

The project includes 97 turbines, 58 Clipper Liberty 2.5MW turbines located on the south end of the project and 39 General Electric 1.5MW turbines located on the north end of the project.  All the power generated in the project will be sold to members of the Southern California Public Power Authority or SCPPA.  Three ranking officials in SCPPA and its member communities were on hand Tuesday to participate in the ribbon cutting ceremony. 

Many have asked why all this power is being transported to California.  The city of Los Angeles has a goal to have 20% of their energy portfolio from renewable sources by the end of 2010.  The presence of the large DC transmission line west of Milford provides the ideal corridor to move power from our area to Southern California.  A key part of this project was the construction of 88 miles of transmission line from north of Milford to IPP in Delta to access the larger DC line.

This project represents the largest renewable energy project in the state and one of the largest in the west.  It is Utah’s largest as well as First Wind’s largest.  Congratulations to all those who worked so hard to bring it to fruition.