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Wind turbine manufacturers will soon be able to get the UL stamp of approval on their turbines, similar to the certification Underwriters Laboratories (UL) gives to kitchen and shop appliances in the United States. UL certifies the safety of consumer products. With a grant from the state of Wyoming, paid out of Petroleum Violation Escrow funds, and from the US Department of Energy, UL is installing the nation's first wind turbine certification facility in southern Wyoming, just across the border from Xcel Energy's Ponnequin Wind Ranch in Colorado. Bill Colavecchio, UL's general manager of renewable energy, says the certification is desired by financiers and insurance companies that invest in wind farms. Although he declines to name companies, Colavecchio says UL is near an agreement to test a 250 kW turbine at the new site and is in talks to test 2 MW and 3 MW machines. The site's turbines will feed power to the grid via the Ponnequin project.