A proposed wind farm that promises to bring jobs and increased revenue to Laramie County is dividing ranchers and landowners, some of whom worry the initiative could negatively impact their private properties.
Spanish energy giant Repsol first notified landowners in the Horse Creek area of its development plans in June, according to a letter obtained by Cowboy State Daily.
That document said the company intends to build as many as 170 wind turbines on roughly 50,000 acres of private ranchlands and 6,150 acres of state lands in an initiative it calls the Laramie Range Wind Project.
Wind turbine components, according to the letter, may be transported down Wyoming Highway 211, known locally as Horse Creek Road.
The letter touts the project’s expected socioeconomic and environmental impacts, claiming it could produce as many as 131 jobs on the project site per month while expelling zero carbon, sulfur, nitrogen or mercury air emissions.
“Based on the comprehensive environmental surveys and analyses completed for the Project to date, this project is not anticipated to pose a threat of serious injury to environmental resources in accordance with all applicable regulatory requirements and guidance,” the document reads.
The project plans to begin construction in 2027 and last until November 2029.
Despite these expected benefits, some residents remain concerned the Laramie Range Wind Project could pose a major threat to local wildlife and may impact the serenity of the nearby nature.
"Repsol consistently engages with local stakeholders throughout the development process to understand and address their concerns, as part of the company's commitment to being a good neighbor and generating shared value with the community," the company said in a statement to Cowboy State Daily.
"The company is actively integrating the feedback it has received from numerous meetings with local stakeholders into the project development plan and will continue engaging in open dialogue with the community throughout the project."
Spanish energy giant Repsol’s plan for 170 turbines near Horse Creek is dividing Laramie County ranchers. Locals weigh the economic benefits against threats to wildlife, traffic, coveted views and private property rights. (Courtesy Wendy Volk) 
Spanish energy giant Repsol’s plan for 170 turbines near Horse Creek is dividing Laramie County ranchers. Locals weigh the economic benefits against threats to wildlife, traffic, coveted views and private property rights. (Courtesy Wendy Volk) 
Spanish energy giant Repsol’s plan for 170 turbines near Horse Creek is dividing Laramie County ranchers. Locals weigh the economic benefits against threats to wildlife, traffic, coveted views and private property rights. (Courtesy Wendy Volk)
Blow it Off
Guy DonCarlos, a homeowner along the haul route, said the project concerns him because he is unclear about whether it is meant to help Wyoming.
“Where is the power going?” he asked during a phone conversation with Cowboy State Daily on Wednesday. “Is this power destined for Wyoming at all? Is it going to California, Washington, Oregon? And if so, why don’t they put these things up on their own property?”
DonCarlos added he prefers living in the Horse Creek area because of its remoteness and proximity to nature. The wind project, DonCarlos predicted, could become detrimental to the way he and his neighbors enjoy the natural scenery.
“The big thing is why are they tearing up the Wyoming vistas to put up the boondoggle wind farms?” he asked. “So far I have not spoken to anybody who is in favor of these [wind projects.]”
Wendy Volk is a shareholder of Dereemer Ranch, a state-designated historic district along Horse Creek Road. She wrote in a Cowboy State Daily letter to the editor that the project could also create traffic problems caused by a surge in construction vehicles passing through the area.
“WYDOT traffic data shows Horse Creek Road and I-25 currently handles about 2600 vehicles per day,” she wrote. “Project estimates indicate during peak construction, over 3,500 vehicles and trucks would clog Horse Creek Road daily.”
“This is not only a safety issue but also an environmental one,” Volk added. “Wildlife is most active at dawn and dusk, the same times traffic will spike.”
Volk, a Cheyenne-based realtor, added, however, that she is not opposed to the project entirely and would be willing to support it should her neighbors decide its best for the community. Her goal, she told Cowboy State Daily via email, is to open a dialogue between the public and project organizers.
“I encourage more public dialogue regarding this large industrial wind project on 56,000 acres,” she wrote. “Projects of this size have far-reaching and irreversible consequences for our community.”
“The failure to address temporary, and permanent, impacts on traffic, emergency services, wildlife, and water use, among many other consequences, should alarm all county residents,” she added. “Most citizens do not know about this project and we must share the facts.”
For its part, Repsol said the project will bring many benefits.
"Repsol is proud to be present in Wyoming, where the Laramie Range Wind project is expected to generate significant economic benefits for the local community including an estimated $32 million in sales tax revenue during construction and $190 million in property and production tax revenue over the life of the project," according to the company's statement.
"Repsol is committed to working with all of its stakeholders to continue advancing the Laramie Range Wind project to develop mutually beneficial solutions and enable a clean energy future."
Wind in Our Sails
Michael Stoellinger, an associate engineering professor at the University of Wyoming, said the proposed project area constitutes a “superb” position for new wind development due to the prevalence of sustained high-speed gusts.
Such developments, he added, go hand in hand with the emergence of artificial intelligence data centers. The combined impact of these facilities working in tandem, he said, could significantly boost the state economy.
“If we consider these data centers to be reasonable means of diversifying the economy in Wyoming, then co-locating them with the clean electrical power generation such as wind energy makes a lot of sense,” he wrote in a statement shared with Cowboy State Daily.
“Other potential candidates for economic diversification could be energy-intense manufacturing processes which would also benefit from the availability of cheap and clean electrical power.”
With longstanding resources like coal and gas on their way out, wind may be a powerful alternative, Stoellinger added.
“We don’t quite know how fast existing coal/gas fired production will go offline, but recent trends show that not much new capacity from these sources is being added,” he wrote. “New nuclear power plants take exceptionally long before they are permitted and built and will not be the near-term solution either.”
Matt Micheli, a Cheyenne attorney who comes from a fifth-generation ranching family, also told Cowboy State Daily via email that wind projects such as these can sometimes provide much-needed income to ranchers facing the potential sale of their properties.
“What people don't understand are these wind projects are saving family ranches,” he wrote. “It’s a private property issue. Do you have the right to develop your own private property or not?”
Ranchers, he added, should be free to choose how they use their land and not be beholden to their neighbors.
“Your right to look at somebody else's land shouldn't trump somebody else's right to make a living off their own property,” Micheli added.
Former president of the National Cattleman’s Beef Association Mark Eisele also told Cowboy State Daily that, from an environmental perspective, initiatives such as the Laramie Range Wind Project are preferable compared to other larger resource-intensive developments.
“A lot of folks don’t realize [housing developments] are the ones that displace wildlife, they’re the ones that use water,” he said. “Wind farms don’t use any water; they don’t misplace wildlife.”
Eisele continued, saying ranchers should have the right to decide how best to use their land. Some community pushback, he suggested, may be due to “green envy,” or jealousy created by those who make money by selling land to energy developers.
At the end of the day, Eisele said, Wyoming landowners must look out for themselves.
“This ultimately boils down to a private property rights issue,” Eisele said. “I’ve seen this happen in places like California where you’re not even allowed to walk across your property because it offends other people that you’re disturbing their view.”
“Wyoming needs to be able to use their property, they need to use it properly and I genuinely believe that these farms really are ok,” he said.
Similar Projects Remain Unpopular
The Laramie Range Wind Project is not the only proposal to earn the ire of Wyoming residents. Converse County rancher Mike Stephens told Cowboy State Daily Tuesday he is concerned a similar proposal near his multi-generation ranch could harm the habitat of local sage grouse, which he refers to as “sage chickens.”
"The damaging part is to sage chickens, that shadow," Stephens said in reference to towering wind turbines. "I don't know if you've ever seen chickens, like domestic chickens or any bird. If they see a shadow, they are hightailing it because they know a bird of prey is going to get them.”
Stephens is now leading the charge against the Pronghorn H2 project proposal, which his attorney Patrick Lewallen claims may be based upon what he sees as an illegitimate lease granted by the Board of Land Commissioners.
"I think a threshold question is whether or not the rules that have been adopted by the state Land Board allow for them to turn to a wind lease for this type of project," Lewallen told Cowboy State Daily. "I think it's a lot different than other projects you've seen around the state, and I think that's a threshold question that we're asking the district court to look at."
Paul Martin, president of Focus Clean Energy said, however, argued his company’s project has always played by the rules.
“The Pronghorn project, located primarily on private land, has and will continue to abide by Wyoming laws and regulations as it relates to our wind lease that was approved by the State Lands Investment Board in April of this year.”
Jackson Walker can be reached at walker@cowboystatedaily.com.
