Between 15 to 27 turbines planned to be built

The city of Downey can be expecting some pretty big additions to its community – 200 foot-tall wind turbines.

This information comes after a meeting Wednesday between the Bannock County commissioners and LA Wind, the Utah-based company looking to build. LA Wind was granted a six-month extension to present and confirm their building plans with the Planning and Development Council. Commissioner Howard Manwaring said he was unsure this project would ever happen.

“LA Wind filed a petition with the the Planning and Development Council several years ago to produce a wind farm in Bannock County,” Manwaring said. “It hasn’t really progressed much until now.”

LA Wind said the delay was the result of the economy, with investors pulling their funding and causing delays in the project.

“The real truth is, no one really knew what was going to happen with the financial markets,” said Rick K. Wood, CEO of LA Wind. “Everybody put things on hold. And we got put on hold.”

The company had already taken steps to find a location, a location Wood hoped was willing to have wind turbines built. While the Bannock County commissioners want LA Wind to build, residents in Downey may not.

Our reporter spoke with several on Wednesday about the construction, and they said they don’t want the turbines there. They also brought up the large power plant that is still being constructed, saying they were disappointed these constructions will be so close to the city, but just outside of the city boundaries.

They also expressed concern about who the turbines will benefit. They said they aren’t benefiting from the power plant and are unhappy at the thought of the wind farm’s power going elsewhere.

To get a look at the kind of wind turbines planned, you can head to the LA Wind website here: www.lawind.us.

Chris Cole on Facebook (http://on.fb.me/126vPsW) and on Twitter (http://bit.ly/126vO8n).