Well, again… how has the greater Phoenix area put the “green” concept into motion? Here are a couple of things that are in the works…

Arizona‘s first wind farm creating power for Valley

Federal dignitaries tout cleaner energy, creation of green jobs

Northern Arizona dedicated the state’s first wind farm, which sends power to Salt River Project customers in the Valley when the wind blows on the turbines between Holbrook and Snowflake.

The Dry Lake Wind Power Project has 30 wind turbines standing more than 400 feet tall, catching every breeze of 7 mph or greater and turning it into pollution-free electricity.

The project employed about 200 construction workers in the past year and will have about 10 full-time workers.

In a steady wind, the turbines can generate enough power for more than 15,000 homes.

Dry Lake will offset some of the power SRP gets from natural-gas-burning power plants.

An analysis from SRP shows that, while the Dry Lake region is windy and the plant will provide thousands of megawatt hours to the utility each year

“The message this plant sends to Arizonans is as important as the power it generates,” SRP General Manager Richard Silverman said.

“Today isn’t only about a power plant, it’s about a more sustainable future for our customers and all of Arizona.”

Bob Abbey, director of the Bureau of Land Management, said the agency supports more wind projects.

“As the steward of more land than any other federal agency, the BLM is proud to support the development of this clean-energy source, one that will help reduce our dependency on foreign oil in uncertain times,” he said.

The Dry Lake farm sits on private, state and BLM land.

Although 15 miles of roads were cut across the landscape to connect the towers, cattle still graze under the turbines, and few people live within sight of the towers.

The BLM will earn about $87,255 a year from the project. The state has a deal tied to the energy generated by the turbines on its land that could earn $4 million during the 50-year arrangement.

With such lucrative deals possible, landowners across the region are hoping to attract many more turbines to the high desert.

Iberdrola Renewables, a Spanish company with U.S. headquarters in Oregon, built the $100 million project and plans 209 more turbines at the site, which will stretch 15 miles across Navajo County.

And right next door, SkyMall founder Robert Worsley, who opened a biomass power plant nearby, has proposed building hundreds more wind turbines and enough solar generators to match the maximum power output of Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station.

Other wind farms have been proposed from the Navajo Reservation and near Flagstaff in the north, to Bisbee in southern Arizona, and to Kingman on the state’s western line.