09/12/06 Idaho`s renewable energy future

From wind power to anaerobic digestion to geothermal energy, Idaho is changing. Renewable energy has finally come to the Gem State. Idaho is producing electricity from wind machines near Hagerman and in Bonneville and Bingham counties. Three dozen projects are in the planning stage and that includes the massive Cotterel Mountain project which could be operational in 2008. A Cassia County geothermal energy project and biomass are certainly in Idaho's future and so is the creation of ethanol. Anaerobic digestion offers opportunities for dairies to create electrical power and in the case of the Whitesides Dairy near Rupert natural gas is end result. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns says oil is getting harder and harder to find, the price seems to continually rise and America has become dependent on fossil fuels. JOHANNS "You solve this problem by exploration, by technology but also solve it by looking to our fields instead of the oil fields of the Mid East to solve the problem." Johanns says USDA is trying to do its part through research, grants and loans. Johanns insists that renewable energy offers new economic opportunities for all of rural America, its farmers and ranchers. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott