Wyoming Board Approves Leases for Seven Wind Farms Totaling 3,458 Megawatts

The rush of wind causes a rush for land.

June 2009

Seven wind projects, including a 2,000-megawatt (MW) wind farm proposed by Clipper Windpower, Inc., received approvals for special use leases from the Wyoming State Board of Land Commissioners on April 9. The board leased 14,776 acres, which are just part of 193,978 acres over which the wind farms would spread.

The leases will help the state exploit its huge wind resource. The American Wind Energy Association says Wyoming could generate up to 747 billion kilowatt-hours of wind energy per year and ranks the state seventh in the nation for wind energy generation potential.

Clipper Windpower is a wind turbine generator manufacturer and developer based in Carpinteria, California, and is a subsidiary of Clipper Windpower Plc, based in London. The company intends to spend $4 billion to install 800 wind turbines, each with a 2.5-MW capacity, across 109,740 acres in Converse County, which is roughly 130 miles north of Cheyenne. The state owns 7,614 acres of that area, some of which it leases for livestock grazing. The lease to Clipper Windpower states that the company is negotiating to add more land to the project.

The lease also spells out other project improvements, including transmission and distribution lines, collection systems, substations roads, foundations, and operation and maintenance buildings. Before it begins construction, the company will perform wind studies, geotechnical reviews, and environmental assessments.

The land board, led by Governor Dave Freudenthal, also approved lease applications for the following proposed projects:

• 400-MW wind farm in Albany County, in the Laramie area. The lease to Ridgeline Energy LLC stipulates the company's use of 2,243 acres of state land, part of a 27,000-acre project costing $800 million.
• 330-MW wind farm in Sweetwater County, roughly 300 miles west of Cheyenne. The lease to Teton Wind Power, LLC spells out use of 320 acres of state land, part of an 18,000-acre project costing $800 million.
• 280-MW expansion of a wind farm in Uinta County near Evanston, in the southwestern corner of Wyoming. The lease to T&T Energy Holdings LLC is for 640 acres, which is part of a 12,000-acre expansion costing $600 million.
• 199.5-MW wind farm in Campbell County, near Gillette in the northeast corner of the state. The lease to TPW Reno Junction, LLC spells out use of 1,280 acres, part of a 10,880-acre project costing $420 million.
• 150-MW wind farm in Platte County, roughly 75 miles north of Cheyenne. The lease to Novelution Wind, LLC, stipulates the use of 2,560 acres, part of a 3,360-acre project costing $300 million.
• 99-MW wind farm in Albany County. The lease to PacifiCorp is for 1,119 acres, part of a12,998-acre project.

For more information, see the Wind Resource Map of Wyoming published by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.