On Monday afternoon, Mike Stephens was out moving cattle on his family's ranch with the sweeping views of the Laramie Mountains stretching across the horizon.
That view and concerns Stephens has with the way the Wyoming Board of Land Commissioners approved a lease for the Pronghorn H2 wind project, led Stephens to take legal action against the board.
“It’s right in my backyard. I border it,” said Stephens, describing an area outside Glenrock that his family first homesteaded in 1912. “It’s beautiful. It's like our Tetons and our Bighorn Mountains.”
Nobody wants windmills blocking those views, so why should Converse County residents sacrifice their scenic and bucolic vistas?
That’s a question that keeps coming up, said Stephens, who believes the Board of Land Commissioners didn’t follow proper procedures when it approved by a vote of 4-1 a lease covering approximately 13,838 acres of state land in Converse County.
The lease was granted for the Pronghorn Clean Hydrogen Center, a 302.5-megawatt wind project that would span roughly 46,000 acres total when including private lands. The project is being developed by Pronghorn H2, LLC, a subsidiary of Acciona & Nordex Green Hydrogen. It plans to use wind and solar power to produce “green” hydrogen jet fuel.
Stephens worries the technology is unproven and the lease is 45 years, leaving open the possibility that the project could fold, leaving the state of Wyoming in a tough spot.
“That’s what I worry about. The state would be stuck with it all,” Stephens told Cowboy State Daily while on a break from moving cattle. “Wind farms sell out. And this is a hydrogen thing, and nobody even knows anything about that.”
Legal Steps
On April 30, Stephens filed a “Petition For Review Of Administrative Action.”
That’s the first step when a private citizen wants to challenge a decision by the Wyoming Board of Land Commissioners, according to Patrick Lewallen, the Casper attorney representing Stephens.
The Land Board voted 4-1 to approve the leasing of state land during its April meeting in support of the Pronghorn project in Converse County and Sidewinder in Niobrara County.
Both still need the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality’s Industrial Siting Division and Siting Council to sign off on them.
But in the meantime, Stephens’ suit is asking the Eighth Judicial District Court in Douglas to examine how the Land Board arrived at its decision to approve the lease.
“This is just to get the ball rolling,” said Lewallen. “We have a brief scheduled that will really determine the issues and the contentions. We’re still putting together the brief and the information. “
The follow up brief in Stephens’ lawsuit is due in late June, said Lewallen.
“Our biggest concern is whether or not the wind leasing rules allow for this type of lease,” added Lewallen. “And the other concern, is there adequate protection for the event that this project goes bankrupt in terms of funding reclamation and that type of stuff? “
He said how the Pronghorn project might impact sage grouse protection areas is also something Stephens might ask the court to consider.
The Wyoming Attorney General’s office is representing the Land Board in this case.
“Our office does not comment on pending litigation,” Senior Assistant Attorney General Jim Peters told Cowboy State Daily.
Private Investment
The Pronghorn project in Converse County represents $1.7 billion in private investment and is expected to bring 107 total jobs to Converse County, with an estimated $10 million per year total labor income for the project.
“The total taxes estimated to be paid over the 35-year life project is a total of $471 million — $144 million to the state of Wyoming and $327 million to Converse County,” according to company estimates.
When reached on Monday, Focus Clean Energy President Paul Martin responded to the Stephens suit by underlining the benefits he believes his company will bring to Wyoming.
"The Pronghorn project will use private investment to responsibly develop Wyoming energy resources and create Wyoming jobs," said Martin. "The majority of the Pronghorn project is located on private land. The state land leases included in the project received written consent from state leaseholders, were carefully reviewed by the Office of State Lands and Investments and were approved by the State Lands Investment Board."
Martin added that the project is still in its early stage and will be required to abide by "Wyoming’s strict regulations that protect water, wildlife and cultural resources."
"We are committed to working with the community to develop a project that respects private property rights and creates new opportunities in Converse County," added Martin.
Growing Opposition
In May, Focus Clean Energy confirmed there is one private landowner involved in Converse County and that the company is now paying on leases for the Pronghorn project.
A growing number of that one landowner’s neighbors are lining up in opposition to the project, according to Stephens.
"There's a whole grassroots thing going on here in Glenrock and Douglas and it's growing like you wouldn't believe," he said.
He pointed to social media as evidence of the burgeoning opposition movement, which apparently has spawned the website www.againstpronghornh2project.com.
Stephens said he’s planning to attend an event on Saturday, June 7, when Secretary of State Chuck Gray will continue his outreach tour, meeting with opponents to the Pronghorn and Sidewinder projects.
“Chuck Gray is going to come there and speak on why he voted no," Stephens said, referring to Gray’s lone no vote on April 3 when Gov. Mark Gordon, State Auditor Kristi Racines, State Treasurer Curt Meier and Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder voted to approve the Pronghorn and Sidewinder leases.
Gordon and other state officials have supported the Pronghorn project as part of Wyoming's energy diversification strategy, noting Wyoming’s “open for business” approach to working with energy developers.
But for Stephens, the issue comes down to preserving something irreplaceable for future generations of his family.
On June 9, Stephens is expecting his first great-grandchild.
“That would be the seventh generation,” said Stephens. “If they go a 45-year lease, they’ll never see the view I see.”
David Madison can be reached at david@cowboystatedaily.com.
