Energy Journal: How to build a wind farm in Wyoming
Source: By Camille Erickson, Casper Star Tribune • Posted: Sunday, October 4, 2020
Building a wind farm in Wyoming isn’t easy.
Developers must go through a maze of regulatory hurdles at multiple levels of government before even breaking ground. But 2020 has been a big year for the growth of wind energy in Wyoming, with hundreds of new megawatts of wind capacity coming online and new projects launching along the way.
Last week, I checked in with Amanda MacDonald, who is overseeing the development of a new 504-megawatt wind farm proposed for 26,000 acres of private and state land in southeast Albany County. She’s with the Houston-based renewable energy company ConnectGen. I wanted to hear about the status of the wind project and learn what steps a company like ConnectGen must take to make a wind farm happen.
In the early stages of development, MacDonald and her team at ConnectGen created a desktop model to consider potential sites for the project. They had to weigh a plethora of factors, like where sage grouse habitats, military trade routes and migration corridors exist. Then they also looked for where the wind blows best and where they may have transmission line access.
“By crunching all of that information together, pretty quickly it narrowed down (our options) to just a few good spots within the state of Wyoming,” MacDonald said.
Because the state has vast open land and a reliable, strong wind source, many people think a ton of potential locations exist to set up a wind farm in Wyoming, she said. In fact, it’s the opposite. After taking into account the numerous constraints like technical restrictions, site-specific permitting requirements and buffer zones, very little land is left to choose from.
Developers at ConnectGen narrowed their best option down to a site in Albany County with prime wind conditions and available transmission lines, among other attractive features. Soon after, the company started reaching out to local and state government agencies, nonprofits and community members on the ground to learn more about the area.
About 80% of the Rail Tie project area is located on private land and 20% on state land. But the project still needs to pass a federal environmental review, because ConnectGen wants to hook up to the Ault-Craig 345-kilovolt transmission line operated by the Western Area Power Administration, or WAPA, a federal agency.
WAPA is a federal power administration and marketing arm of the U.S. Department of Energy. If WAPA approves the interconnection request, no new transmission lines will need to be constructed as part of the project, according to the company. WAPA is on track to publish a draft environmental impact statement for the project in February. That will launch a public comment period. A public hearing will also be held to gather feedback during that period.
After the federal government finishes the environmental review for the wind farm, the project will still need to submit permit applications to Albany County and the state’s Industrial Siting Council. Once those processes are started, there will be additional opportunities for public engagement.
Construction and operation of the Rail Tie project could create 136 direct jobs during its 35-year lifespan, the company said. In addition, ConnectGen anticipates the Rail Tie project would generate $133.5 million in taxes for the county and $45 million for the state over its lifetime.
Some Albany County residents have worried wind development like this could compromise viewsheds or public safety. But several residents have also spoken firmly in support of making the county an attractive place for wind energy developers. At a Sept. 15 county commission public hearing on wind development, Laramie business owner Katrina Cox spoke about her hope for the Rail Tie project.
“When we bring industry into our communities, not only is it bringing in new jobs, it provides more money for our town and schools,” Cox said. “It also is going to bring cleaner air and water, more reliable electricity supply and stable energy prices.