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.
As recently as November, 2011, officials were hopeful that a major project could be completed as soon as the end of 2012. However, a bankruptcy filing and concerns about the financial viability of the project have put everything on hold.
Renewable Energy Development Corporation (Redco) filed for Chapter Seven bankruptcy on December 30, 2011 in the US District Bankruptcy Court. Redco has been involved in approximately a dozen wind and solar energy projects across the United States, including the proposed Blue Mountain Wind, LLC project.
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.
In November, 2011, PacificCorp asked regulators to approve the proposed project. Because a number of federal government financial incentives for wind energy projects is set to expire at the end of 2012, ground work at the proposed site was expected to begin in earnest.
However, instead of sending work crews, the company submitted a bankruptcy filing. An auction of Redco assets was held at the bankruptcy court on January 27. 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.