Navajo energy firm partners with Provo’s Humless

Big Navajo Energy, a Navajo owned renewable energy company, said it is partnering with Provo-based Humless to bring solar-battery based power systems to more than 18,000 families on the Navajo reservation that do not have electricity.

Humless, a division of Food for Health International produces a lithium battery-based "generator" that can be used as a primary or secondary source of electricity. The battery can be recharged using solar panels.
The Navajo Nation is located in southeastern Utah, northeastern Arizona and northwestern New Mexico. Salt Lake Tribune

Moab Nonprofit Uses Straw Bales to Build Affordable Housing

When Nancy Morlock and boyfriend Eric Boxrud were ready to give up the communal living that tends to go hand in hand with being a mountain bike guide in Moab, their search for a place of their own yielded results that were less than appealing.

"Houses were priced out of our income level," said Morlock, a guide for Moab Cyclery and Escape Adventures.

Community Rebuilds — a nonprofit organization that seeks to improve workforce housing in Moab through the construction of affordable energy-efficient homes. The group hauled off Morlock and Boxrud's pink, single-wide trailer and replaced it with a light green home that includes more than a few unique features.

Niehaus, who has a master's degree in social work and experience as a loan officer, said she first got the idea for Community Rebuilds in 2003. That was two years before the Southeastern Utah Association of Governments conducted a housing study that showed just how dire the affordable housing situation was in Moab.

"(The study) showed that 35 percent of the housing stock in Moab was considered dilapidated or unacceptable," Niehaus said. "The majority of the homes are pre-1976 manufactured homes."

Many of those manufactured homes had been brought to town during the uranium boom, which began in the 1950s. Their age and condition often made them the only affordable option for the folks who "run the machine" that keeps Moab's tourism industry alive.

The floor plan for those homes is relatively simple: three bedrooms, two bathrooms and less than 1,000 square feet. And the people who build them are all interns who receive a food stipend and a place to stay during the four months it takes for construction. The Republic

Growth in Blanding, despite challenges

Blanding is booming with new homes being built, new roads being constructed, and infrastructure (especially water) additions soon to be built.

The biggest single boost to the housing situation in Blanding is the Grayson Apartments complex. This mixed-use mini community just south of the college consists of 30 new one, two and three-bedroom living units. They will be completed in June and available for occupancy. The $5.6 million project is built by Color Country Community Housing of St. George. Architect is Harold Woodruff and the General Contractor is Kier Construction.

Starvation Reservoir north of Blanding is currently undergoing an $800,000 makeover, mostly to install a clay lining so water loss due to seepage is substantially decreased. Financing is through the USDA Rural Development. The contractor is S.S. Enterprises of Moab.  San Juan Record

Wind energy firm declares bankruptcy

An anticipated multi-million dollar investment in wind energy infrastructure in northern San Juan County has been put on hold, possibly indefinitely.

Blue Mountain Wind planned to begin with a 79.5 megawatt wind farm on nearly 7,000 acres of private land in the Tarb area northeast of Monticello. The company indicated that the project could have grown to 150 megawatts in the future.

Officials state that while the Blue Mountain Wind project may be viable in the long run, it is back to the drawing board at the current time. San Juan Record

Moab UMTRA Project Impact Analysis

Economist John Krantz has put together an economic impact analysis, specifically examining the job creation associated with ARRA funding for the acceleration of the Department of Energy's Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA).

For a direct link to the study:

http://jobs.utah.gov/wi/pubs/specialreports/utaharraimpactanalysis.pdf

The study can be found with other Workforce Research & Analysis publications at:

http://jobs.utah.gov/wi/pubs/publicat.html

Moab at risk to lose EPA Green Power status, officials say

Moab is at risk of losing its hard-earned status as an EPA Green Power Community if the percentage of renewable energy purchased by government agencies, businesses and private residences does not increase by the end of June. Currently, 2.83 percent of the electricity that powers commercial and residential properties community wide comes from renewable energy sources such as wind and geothermal, but that percentage must increase to 3 percent in order for Moab – the first EPA Green Power Community in the U.S. – to remain an EPA green power partner, Moab Mayor Dave Sakrison said this week.

According to the city’s website, by last calculations the community was at 4 percent wind power with 14 percent of residents and businesses participating in the program.

According to Blaine Collison, director of the EPA’s Green Power Program, five out of 33 communities have currently fallen just below their required percentages. He said that all partners can retain their designation if they increase their percentages by their annual updates.

Currently, the program boasts Portland, Ore. as its biggest community partner.“To be able to engage that size load and that many stakeholders, I think, is a pretty good sign,” he said. Collison added that Moab has a very special place within the partnership because it was the first in the nation to accomplish the Green Power status.“My counsel to Moab would be to take a look around at what the other communities across the U.S. have done to leverage Moab’s early leadership,” he said. “Let’s see a little leapfrogging here. It would be great to see Moab come up the curve a little bit and take its place back at the top of the percentage.” Read more: Moab Times-Independent - Moab at risk to lose EPA Green Power status officials say

Solar/wind project gets conditional use permit

San Juan County has given its blessing to a combination wind and solar power project proposed in the TARB area northeast of Monticello. The REDCO (Rural Energy Delivery Companies Alliance) project could result in the construction of a 50-megawatt wind power plant. A recent study by Utah State University indicated that the project could result in a $1.3 million increase in property taxes, including $800,000 a year for local schools. The study added that the construction phase would result in the creation of more than 50 jobs. Ongoing operations would generate approximately $150,000 per year in land lease payments. San Juan Record