USA - Workshops on developing wind power scheduled

The Utah Wind Working Group will hold three workshops next week to teach rural residents how to apply for grants to develop wind power, geothermal, solar and biomass renewable energy projects. The grants are available from a $23 million allotment in the federal Farm Bill of 2002, and are geared toward agricultural and small-business projects. Rural Utahns interested in alternative energy and conservation will learn how to organize, write and submit grant requests. Richard Carrig, U.S. Department of Agriculture rural development director for businesses and cooperative programs in Utah, said hundreds of Utahns attended similar workshops last year in Cedar City and Salt Lake City, but only two grants ended up being submitted and neither of them received grant money. This time, Carrig said, there will be a host of experts on hand to help people with their applications. "We're blessed with the ability to tap into a lot of these renewable resources in this state, and we're not doing it," Carrig said. "We've got really good potential. We'd love to see some success stories in Utah." Here is the workshop schedule:

- Wednesday, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., Moab Arts and Recreation Center, 111 E. 100 North, Moab.
- Thursday, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., Snow College Administration Building, Room 147.
- Friday, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., Utah Department of Natural Resources, 1594 W. North Temple, Salt Lake City.

The workshops are free of charge. Sponsors include USDA's Wind Powering America and Geopowering the West programs, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Utah Geological Survey's state energy program and Utah Clean Energy. For more information, call Nykole Littleboy at the Utah Geological Survey, 801-538-5413, or e-mail nykolelittleboy@utah.gov.