LUSK — A pair of controversial wind projects that promise to spread out over more than 180,000 acres in Niobrara and Converse counties has deeply divided these eastern Wyoming communities, locals say.
The projects, which were approved 4-1 last month by the Wyoming State Land Board, have “divided this community pretty bad,” said former Niobrara County Commissioner John Midkiff.
“People that used to be friends are no longer friends,” he said Wednesday at an afternoon town hall meeting hosted by Secretary of State Chuck Gray.
Gray was the lone “no” vote on approval of parts of both projects to happen on state-owned land.
“People that fixed fence together when they moved into the pastures in the spring and moved out in the fall, they’re no longer friends,” Midkiff said. “It’s divided our community pretty hard.”
The green energy projects propose to use the power they generate to make jet fuel, not energy for the grid.
Gray said that’s a huge red flag for him, and that it doesn’t sit well for the state to approve projects that get federal incentives to then compete with Wyoming’s legacy coal, oil and gas industries.
“We’re supposed to raise revenue,” he added, referencing the mandate that the State Land Board maximize the financial potential of state lands.
But some prices are too high to pay, Gray said, adding that there aren’t many people he’s come into contact with who support them.
“There are tremendous problems,” he said. “For one, it’s a Spanish company that wants to come in and use the water. They’ll produce jet fuel that’s going to be pumped down to DIA.”
When asked how many at the meeting Wednesday oppose the wind projects, nearly everybody raised a hand.
The Projects
Both projects are proposed by Acciona and Nordex Green Hydrogen, which has teamed up with Focus Clean Energy.
The Sidewinder H2 wind farm is planned about 10 miles west of Lusk on 120,110 acres, of which 23,290 (19.4%) is state land.
It’s expected to use 352 megawatts of energy sited on state trust land, subject to state approval, which would create 201 permanent jobs and $7 billion investment. It would be estimated to produce 1,000 megawatts of wind energy.
Pronghorn H2 proposes 45 turbines east of Casper over 46,000 acres, with 30% of that area state-owned land.
This project would include a capacity of up to 110 megawatts of electricity and be about one-third the size of the Sidewinder project.
It’s estimated this project would generate $365,750 for the state annually and $31.5 million over the course of the 40-year lease. Office of State Lands and Investment staffer Cody Booth said last month that wind projects in the state currently generate $1.2 million in annual revenue for Wyoming.
The Lawsuit
Those numbers may not mean much to people who don’t have a dog in the fight, but for Mike Stephens, it’s his family’s past and future legacy.
He’s a fourth-generation rancher with 1,200 acres near Glenrock that border one of the projects.
Stephens was at Wednesday’s meeting to hear more about why Gray opposes it. He also sued the state of Wyoming last week to stop the wind farm, claiming the Land Board didn’t follow its own rules when giving its OK.
“It’s very important to us. I’ll tell you what, I’m suing the state of Wyoming right now over giving that lease to Pronghorn II,” he told Cowboy State Daily.
“I live right next to it, and this will devalue the land,” he said. “There’s 13,000 acres there, and they’re going to put those 600-foot turbines out there.”
He said that will destroy the value of his ranch land, and that a 45-year lease for the project means it’s generational.
“My grandkids will be my age when that lease is up,” he said.
Stephens also said he understands why the other members of the Land Board cited private property rights of the landowners involved with the projects. But that goes both ways, he said.
“Here’s the deal — private property rights, I believe in that completely,” Stephens said. “But what about my rights to not have a neighbor next to me doing that? It devalues the land like you wouldn’t believe.”
The Governor
Throughout the meeting, some in the audience expressed frustration with Gov. Mark Gordon for his voting for the project, and Gray elaborated, saying the governor is “out of touch” with Wyomingites.
“Why on earth do we have a governor doubling down on these things?” Gray said, adding he works for the people of Wyoming. “There’s an insider group in Cheyenne that doesn’t feel that way. There’s a lot of arrogance there.”
The secretary of state also acknowledged there’s a growing rift between himself and Gordon, and that they’re not likely to send each other Christmas cards.
“Secretary Gray seems only interested in repeating falsehoods about the governor and other members of the (board) through angry rhetoric rather than honoring his constitutional and fiduciary responsibility to earn the best return for the state and our schools,” said Gordon spokesman Michael Pearlman in response to Gray’s criticism.
“Four of the five (State Land Board) members, including the governor, respected private property rights with their votes,” Pearlman said.
The state-owned portion of the projects is about 30% on Pronghorn and 20% on Sidewinder, he said.
That the issue of the wind projects brought more than 100 people to the Niobrara County Fairgrounds in the afternoon on a work day speaks volumes, said Bobby Giesse.
He said he and a lot of his neighbors are upset, especially over the potential to lose legacy grazing leases that local ranchers depend on.
“They can take any state land they want and run you off,” he said. “Even if you’ve been there for 40, 50, 60 years.”
Greg Johnson can be reached at greg@cowboystatedaily.com.
