It’s obvious that a major shift is underway for electrical generation in North America. Wyoming, specifically, deserves closer inspection.  Let’s connect the available dots to understand why Wheatland Wyoming is positioned to benefit from wind energy development.

Dot #1: Wind! Wheatland, Wyoming  sits within the windiest point in the nation according to the NREL map, but developers are stuck without available transmission capacity.

Dot #2: Trifecta! Not insignificant is the environmental, land use, and siting issues with building new transmission lines.  The fact that Wheatland has the greatest access to existing transmission corridors and the fewest environmental conflicts gives them the trifecta of wind, transmission, and environmental attributes to thrive in the new energy economy.

The Wyoming Infrastructure Authority is actively promoting the Wyoming Colorado Intertie project to find a market for Wyoming wind.  This tie starts at the Laramie River Station just outside of Wheatland.

Dot #3: Transmission! Basin Electric, who operates the Laramie River Station,  already has a transmission line from Gillette at the Dry Forks power plant to Colorado  planned.

Dot #4: Market Access! Xcel Energy  actively participates  in the High Plains Express transmission line  planning. This line starts at Dave Johnson and connects at the Laramie River Station and is expected to bring wind power from Wyoming and Eastern Colorado and New Mexico solar to demand-needy areas.

Every wind developer knows that the closer their project is to a transmission corridor and a major substation to connect to, the more economically viable it becomes for development.

Dot #5: Infrastructure! Wheatland has the existing infrastructure to be the Forward Operating Base for all types of wind development including construction. The town has already benefited from significant improvements in schools, roads, and services during the 1977 to 1980 construction of the $1.6 Billion Laramie River Station (LRS) power plant just outside of Wheatland.

Dot #6: Stimulus! At a recent conference in Denver regarding the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), Nick Muller (Executive Director of the Colorado Independent Energy Association)  stated that Wyoming Wind is ahead of Colorado in areas of wind development. Approximately $3.2 Billion in loan guarantees is ear-marked from the ARRA for the Western Area Power Administration. Transmission line improvements are high on everyone’s list of projects for the Western States.

Dot #7: Stimulus Again! Part of the ARRA includes money to demonstrate carbon sequestering. Basin Electric already has proposed a large-scale carbon capture demonstration project to be done at its Antelope Valley Station. If successful, the implications for Basin’s other plants including Laramie River Station are obvious. Wheatland will benefit from a huge investment in carbon capture at Laramie River Station.

Dot #8: Training and Education! Laramie Community College, located in Cheyenne, WY has been designated as a regional training center for Wind Energy. The University of Wyoming, in Laramie had previously announced in 2008 the building of the UW Wind Energy Research Center.

You Better Hurry

The locals are organized and understand what is at stake. A few of the Wind Energy Associations include:

• Bordeaux Wind Energy Association
• Glendo Wind Energy Association
• Slater Wind Energy Association

It’s clear that Wheatland is sitting favorably within this wind corridor with its nearby Laramie River Station figuring to be the next likely major  interconnection point  for wind energy transmission and the town already possesses the infrastructure to take on the coming boom in wind development.

Platte County is Capable of 2,000 megawatts of Wind Energy

Early adopters will snatch up the available inventory of housing and industrial buildings while later arrivals will spur construction projects. To get an idea of the scope, some estimates place 100-200 construction jobs per 100 megawatts built and 2-6 permanent jobs for the same metric.  For Platte County, that translates into 40 to 100 permanent families and a staggering 2,000 to 4,000 construction families.

All the dots lead to Wheatland as a primary geographical focal point for the new energy economy.

About the Author:

Blaine Berger is the President of E-Oasis, a business and technology veteran with 25 years of experience. You can contact Blaine via e-mail at blaine@e-oasis.com or follow @eoasis on Twitter. You may also leave a comment on this blog.

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