State OK's wind lease for 675-foot turbines near Laramie

[TexasTowelie]

State land commissioners voted 4-1 Thursday to lease 4,804 acres south of Laramie for a wind farm, rebuffing neighbors’ protest that up to 151 windmills as high as 675 feet would mar a natural and heritage-rich landscape.

The 40-year deal with ConnectGen would be part of a larger 26,000-acre development, 80% of which would be on private land. ConnectGen estimates the entire project will generate $45 million for the state and $131 million for Albany County for a total of $176 million over the life of the project. The leases themselves would bring about $21 million over 40 years, hearing attendees said.

The sprawling proposal around Tie Siding — a tiny community 18 miles south of Laramie — proposes 60 miles of new roads plus 105 miles of electrical collection lines, some of them on 50-foot poles, and substations. The Tie Siding project would build 16 or so rows of turbines a half mile apart on large blocks of rolling sagebrush land stretching 10 miles north from the Colorado border and 10 miles east-west.

The Rail Tie Wind Project boundaries are within two miles of Interstate 80. Project critics say the area — a mix of private and state-owned land — is the city’s best option for the kind of high-end residential development needed to attract University of Wyoming faculty and upscale business employees.

Read more: https://www.wyofile.com/state-oks-wind-lease-for-675-foot-turbines-near-laramie/