TORRINGTON – While numerous companies have filed permits to explore oil and gas possibilities in Goshen County – there is one active fracking operation, near US 85 between Torrington and Yoder – and the county has become a corridor for various pipeline operations, the Goshen County Board of Commissioners heard from a new player in the energy sector during its regular meeting last week.
A team of representatives from Chugwater Wind, LLC., a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources, presented the commission with its plan to build 12 turbines in southern Goshen County. The turbines will be part of a larger project that will eventually see the installation of 113 turbines total in Platte County and Goshen County.
The project is in its infancy, but Stefan Eckmann, of NextEra, said the company’s goal is to have the project up and going by December 2021. The project was originally developed by another company that was purchased by NextEra.
“We are moving forward with permitting, assuming this operation date for potential customers,” he said. “This project was developed by Wyoming Wind and Power, originally. One of our colleagues is a Wyoming native and he was developer initially in 2009.
“We acquired it in 2016. Based on the market now, we’re moving ahead with basic permitting activities, including surveying, noise studies and a lot of that preliminary preconstruction work.”
The turbines will take up about 4,000 acres in Goshen County, and those turbines will produce about 10 percent of the energy for the Chugwater project. Eckmann said his team has met with Goshen County Planner Gary Childs and engineer Bob Taylor to develop a site plan.
Mike Pappalardo, another NextEra representative, said the company’s concern at this point is to work with the involved counties and the state to make sure all of the permitting is done correctly.
“We understand this is a marathon and not a race,” Pappalardo said. “This is going to take time and a lot of due diligence on our part.
“We want to do it right, and do it with all of the input appropriately, and meet all of your standards. We are good stewards of what we build.”
Commission Chairman John Ellis voiced his concern over the longevity of wind farms, and what happens to the sites when they are decommissioned.
“That’s a huge concern with wind power,” he said. “It’s not the most beautiful thing in the world. Wyoming prides itself in it tourism, and in some places now first thing you see is a wind turbine. We really want to try and keep our landscape the way it is because that’s part of Wyoming. We want to make very sure if something happens it can be reclaimed.”
The lifespan of a modern wind farm is between 30 and 35 years, Eckmann said, and the company is required to post a sizable bond before the farm is built to ensure the turbines can be properly disposed of and the land be reclaimed.
“Our policy with reclamation is that we will bring it back to the original status or make it better,” he said.
Eckmann said the land proposed for the wind farm is mostly grazing land, and cattle will still be able to graze there once construction is finished. Each turbine takes up about one acre, and that small footprint minimizes impact on the land.
The project will also bring some new jobs to the community. Eckmann said the construction of the wind farm will last between six and nine months and could produce 350-400 temporary jobs during the peak of construction. Once the construction is done, he said there could be up to 10 permanent jobs.
“Most of the land is available for grazing,” Eckmann said. “We work with the landowners to make sure all of their needs are met and besides the relationships with landowners, we try to be an active member of the community. We’re also providing property taxes to the community and other impacts, including jobs.”
While there are no current plans to spread further into Goshen County, Pappalardo said the area is one of the best untapped wind resources in the country.
“I think it’s no secret to tell you that you probably have one of the best wind resources in the United States,” he said. “I often come home from places like this and I’m shouting at my wife because I can’t hear after spending so much time in windy areas. It really is a great place for a wind project.”
Eckmann said the potential energy produced by the wind farm doesn’t have a buyer at this time, but he is confident there will be a contract in place by the end of spring.
According to Pappalardo, the interested parties are just in the beginning stages of the lengthy industrial siting process, but they are willing to expend the resources to get it done.
“Nothing is set in stone,” he said. “We have to start early, and we’re willing to invest the time, effort and money into the permitting process.”
