PULLMAN - Using wind to power homes and businesses in the region is something the Southeast Washington Economic Development Association thinks is a great idea.

SWEDA held a meeting Thursday night in Pullman to discuss the possibilities of wind power in Whitman County.

"Tonight we had a meeting regarding the study that Entrix does on economic impacts of wind power developments and we had a meeting last night in Pomeroy on a similar topic and the study was about the impacts felt in Columbia County," said economist for Entrix Consulting Barabara Wyse. "There are three wind energy projects in Columbia County so we studied the economic impacts that happened there and then looked at what might potentially happen in other counties in the region."

Those impacts could be more jobs, lower taxes and increased revenue.

"It would depend on the size of the project, how similar the projects are to the projects in Columbia County, how transferable those results would be," said Wyse.

Attendees asked questions about everything from whether the wind power companies would hire locally to if the wind turbines would interfere with TV signals.

"I think people are really interested because of the prospect of wind energy development coming to the area, are really interested in seeing what they can expect," said Wyse. "So I think this gave people a flavor of the types of impacts that could be expected."