CHEYENNE — On the same day that Focus Clean Energy announced it was dramatically shrinking its controversial Pronghorn H2 wind and hydrogen project in Converse County, a crowd packed into the Kiwanis Community House in Cheyenne to get information on another embattled wind development north of Wyoming's capital city.
Both projects have faced intense opposition from Wyoming residents, legal challenges and regulatory setbacks. And both developers are now altering the projects’ size and ambitions.
Focus Clean Energy announced Thursday that its Pronghorn H2 Project footprint has been reduced to about 30% of its original size, from more than 57,000 acres down to about 16,571 acres.
The company also said it is eliminating the hydrogen production component that had been central to the project's original vision, which means it no longer needs industrial-scale water supplies.
"Rapidly increasing energy demand means Wyoming needs additional electric generation, and the Pronghorn Project is repositioned to help meet that need," said Paul Martin, lead developer for the Pronghorn Project. "We anticipate these significant changes will resolve many of the concerns expressed by the community."
Martin told Cowboy State Daily the decision was driven by market conditions rather than politics.
"The market dynamic has changed for electricity," Martin said. "This allows us to be more flexible."
The revised project will now connect to the electrical grid and serve industrial customers rather than producing hydrogen jet fuel through electrolysis.
Water requirements will be limited to basic operational needs for an office facility.
The changes come after a December ruling by District Court Judge F. Scott Peasley that vacated the project's wind lease from the state. That decision is now on appeal to the Wyoming Supreme Court.
Martin said Focus Clean Energy still plans to use its state land lease and expects to begin formal permitting this year.
Laramie Adjustments
Meanwhile in Cheyenne, Repsol Renewables North America project lead Charlie Banke told attendees at a Thursday open house that the Laramie Range Wind Project has been revised to address community concerns.
The project has been reduced from 170 turbines to 139, and from 56,000 acres to 42,000 acres.
Banke also emphasized that the Spanish company announced it will no longer use Horse Creek Road for delivery of major components like wind turbines, aggregate and concrete.
"We heard the community members who were there, and their concerns, and we listened, and we've made changes to that," Banke told Cowboy State Daily.
The Laramie County Board of Commissioners denied the project's site plan in a 3-1 vote in September.
ConnectGen, Repsol's affiliate, filed a petition for review in district court in November, challenging the denial as arbitrary and lacking proper findings of fact.
"We're listening to the community," he said. "We understand that there are questions and concerns about projects like ours, and we're here to listen."
Skeptics Remain
It wasn’t clear if any of the project’s critics were placated at Thursday's open house by the changes.
Wendy Volk, a Cheyenne Realtor whose family ranch borders the proposed Laramie Range project area, said the revised footprint is still too large.
"It's still twice the size of Cheyenne," Volk told Cowboy State Daily.
She criticized the maps provided by the company as inadequate for landowners trying to understand how the project would affect their properties.
"I'm a real estate agent. I can read a map,” Volk said. “It’s a crappy map. I think it's disingenuous."
Volk questioned whether wind energy can reliably serve the growing electricity demands from data centers and other industrial users, noting that turbines must shut down in high winds.
"Data centers need 24/7 reliable power," she said. "They can't rely on something that fluctuates."
Volk's father and uncle sold land that is being developed for a data center near Cheyenne, but she said the family is not part of that project's development.
"A data center can't rely on wind,” she said.
Pro Private Property
When asked if there were any supporters of the Laramie Range Wind Project among the modest crowd that attended the open house, a consultant for the project welcoming attendees said there was one pro-wind written public comment left by a supporter.
That commenter emphasized the upside of the wind industry providing jobs for students studying wind technology at Laramie County Community College.
The supporter also framed their position as a way of supporting private property rights.
Thursday’s event invited written public comments and offered one-on-one conversations with a number of Repsol staffers.
State Rep. Gary Brown, R-Cheyenne, attended the open house and expressed disappointment with the format.
"I thought this was going to be a place where people could make comments," Brown told Cowboy State Daily. "I'm a little disappointed in that.
“I think people should have a chance to voice an opinion more to them. I don't think they really want that."
Brown, whose district includes opponents of the project like Volk, raised concerns about wildlife impacts and what he described as problems with turbine vibrations affecting aquifers, livestock and sleep patterns for residents within three miles of turbine locations.
"I believe highly in personal property rights," Brown said. "But when your personal property right affects somebody else's property adversely, it's alright for those people to stand up and say, 'No, we don't want this.'"
Uncertain Future
Both projects face uncertain paths forward.
The Pronghorn Project must navigate an ongoing legal battle over its state land lease while the State Board of Land Commissioners considers changes to wind leasing rules.
Focus Clean Energy says it expects to hold public information sessions as it moves into the permitting phase.
The Laramie Range Project is pursuing an appeal of the county commission's denial while also preparing to submit an application to the state Industrial Siting Council in the first quarter of 2026.
If construction proceeds as planned, the Laramie Range project would be built in two phases, potentially beginning as early as 2026 and operational by the end of 2029.
The company projects up to 305 construction workers at peak employment and 23 permanent jobs once operational.
Dwayne Roberts, a Cheyenne resident who attended the open house, said even the revised project is too close for comfort. His property sits about 20 miles from the nearest proposed turbine.
"I don't want that in my backyard," Roberts said. "I don't want them screwing up with everything on the animals."
A number of attendees raised concerns about wind energy’s potential impacts on raptors and bats.
As for the Pronghorn Project, Martin said his team is looking ahead to the next phase of development and welcomes continued dialogue with the community.
"We look forward to sharing our current updated plans, listening to continued feedback, and maintaining an open dialogue as we move into the next phase of development," Martin said.
David Madison can be reached at david@cowboystatedaily.com.
