In the next couple of years, crews could begin constructing a large-scale wind turbine development south of town. The Grapevine Canyon Wind Project is a proposed commercial wind energy generation facility 22 miles southeast of Flagstaff in Coconino County. The Foresight Wind Energy, LLC venture is still in the permitting process.

The Grapevine Canyon Wind Project could be a great project for the area, says Bill Auberle. He’s part of the Arizona Wind Working Group and a Northern Arizona University Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty member. “It would go a long way toward proving the economic viability of the wind energy resource in this region,” said Auberle.

Foresight Wind Energy is an affiliate of Foresight Energy Company, a California-based energy consulting group. The Grapevine Canyon Wind Project site is comprised of ranch lands owned by the Metzger family and Arizona State Trust parcels administered by the State Land Department.

Foresight Wind Energy’s Amy LeGere says there are many processes to go through on a development like this one. “We’ve been conducting meteorological wind assessment at the project site since early 2007,” said LeGere. Her company wants to build a new transmission line to connect with a Western Area Power Administration, part of the U.S. Department of Energy. WAPA has been doing feasibility studies for at least a year, and last month they concluded public scoping meetings in Flagstaff and Mormon Lake. People who attended those meetings learned about the environmental impact statement process and asked questions of project team members.

If the project moves forward, LeGere says it would be phased in, with the number of turbines being determined by the power contract. Grapevine Canyon Wind would have a capacity of up to 500 megawatts of energy. 100 megawatts could power between 25,000 and 30,000 homes for a year.

The Grapevine Canyon Wind development could cover more than 50 square miles if it’s fully built out. Each 100 megawatts of energy production would require between 26 and 66 turbines adding up to as many as 330 large-scale turbines on the property. Many wind developers build in stages, adding onto a project when there’s an energy demand.

Arizona Corporation Chairman Kris Mayes says she’s enthusiastic about wind projects like Grapevine Canyon. "I would like to see the day when we have wind farms in Arizona near Flagstaff that produce for Flagstaff but also produce for Albuquerque or produce for Los Angeles,” said Mayes. She says the environment desperately needs cleaner methods of creating electricity and renewable energy will make the United States less dependent on foreign sources of fuel.

Renewable energy refers to energy produced from natural resources including wind, sun, and geothermal heat. Some neighboring states like California and New Mexico have adopted policies favoring renewable energy production over production from coal fired power plants which emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. By the year 2025, utility companies in Arizona will be required to produce 15% of their energy from renewable sources.

Arizona’s first wind farm was just completed. The Dry Lake Wind Project is located south of Holbrook. It’s operated by Iberdrola Renewables, a Spanish company with U.S. offices in Portland, Ore. Dry Lake has 30 turbines with capacity for more than 200. Each turbine is more than 400 feet tall. Approximately 200 people worked during the construction process.

According to the American Wind Energy Association Website, Arizona is one of the last states to develop utility scale wind.