Wind Power News: Wyoming
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They are the products of the organizations or individuals noted and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch.
Last defendant pleads guilty in wind farm fraud
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — The last of five defendants charged with defrauding investors of more than $4 million by promoting non-existent wind farm projects in Wyoming and South Dakota pleaded guilty Tuesday to felony charges. Robert Arthur Reed, of Salt Lake City, pleaded guilty in federal court in Casper to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and conspiracy to launder money. Four other co-defendants have entered earlier guilty pleas to various charges. Prosecutors charged that Reed and the others . . .
Wasatch Wind seeks permit delay for planned Glenrock wind farm
A Utah wind company is asking a state board for more time to prove it can fund its planned wind power project near Glenrock, claiming a series of legal challenges have slowed its progress by more than a year. Wasatch Wind formally asked the Wyoming Industrial Siting Commission for 10 more months to meet a condition of its state permit that requires the company to prove it can fund the construction, operation and eventual demolition of its 62-turbine, 100-megawatt Pioneer . . .
Wind turbines deadly for eagles, pheasants; Protected birds die without prosecution of energy companies
CONVERSE COUNTY, WYO. — Every year 573,000 birds are killed by wind turbines, according to an estimate published in March in the peer-reviewed Wildlife Society Bulletin. In the Converse County, Wyo., area, more than four dozen golden eagles have been killed by the turbines since 2009, one of the deadliest places in the country of its kind. In neighboring South Dakota, there are no known reports of eagle deaths but other birds, including pheasants, mallards and smaller species have been . . .
Wyoming wind for sale? Reports make case for selling wind energy to Colorado
CHEYENNE — State officials hope scientific and economic data could convince states, such as Colorado, to purchase wind energy originating from Wyoming. The Wyoming Infrastructure Authority Board heard presentations Wednesday on a pair of recently released reports that tout the benefits of exporting wind energy out of the state. The studies detail the feasibility and the economic benefits if wind farms and transmission lines built in Wyoming could help power Colorado’s electric grid. The authors of the reports, which were . . .
Duke Energy seeks to cut eagle deaths at wind farms as feds investigate
Duke Energy Renewables, under federal investigation for the deaths of golden eagles at two Wyoming wind farms, has stepped up efforts to protect the birds, including the installation of a new radar system. Duke Renewables spokeswoman Tammie McGee says the efforts appear to be paying off. Duke, which logs the death of each eagle found at its wind farms, has had no deaths at the two farms since September. Duke owns a total of four wind farms in Wyoming. The . . .
Obama administration allows wind farms to kill eagles, birds despite federal laws
CONVERSE COUNTY, Wyo. — It happens about once a month here, on the barren foothills of one of America’s green-energy boomtowns: A soaring golden eagle slams into a wind farm’s spinning turbine and falls, mangled and lifeless, to the ground. Killing these iconic birds is not just an irreplaceable loss for a vulnerable species. It’s also a federal crime, a charge that the Obama administration has used to prosecute oil companies when birds drown in their waste pits, and power . . .
Wasatch back with the wind
Citing delays from numerous legal challenges, Wasatch Wind Intermountain, LLC is applying to the state Industrial Siting Council for an extension of the permit deadline for its proposed Pioneer Wind Parks south of Glenrock. Specifically, the company is asking for a 10-month extension of the July 18, 2013, deadline to meet Special Condition #19 requiring the company to provide evidence of sufficient financial resources to construct, maintain, operate, decommission and reclaim the facility. Edison Mission Energy, the company that Wasatch . . .
Sweetwater County extends wind farm moratorium
A Wyoming county extended its moratorium on new wind farms Tuesday, lengthening a hold that has lasted more than a year. The Sweetwater County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday extended its moratorium on wind farm development by three months, to September. The board first implemented the measure in February 2012. The move shouldn’t hamper any wind power projects; a company with a project on the drawing board actually requested the extension, a representative says. The county first passed a moratorium . . .
Transmission line may pass through Albany County
A proposed 3,000-megawatt transmission line that would connect a wind energy development near Chugwater with an electrical grid near Las Vegas could pass through northern Albany County. The Zephyr Power Transmission Project, planned by Duke-American Transmission Company, has been proposed to conduct power generated at Pathfinder Renewable Wind Project, located south of Wheatland, with California markets. It would be 850 miles long and pass through Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and Nevada, carrying enough power to supply 1.4 million homes. Duke-American is . . .
3 face June trial in Wyoming wind farm fraud case
Three defendants are set to stand trial in June on federal charges that they defrauded investors of more than $4 million by promoting non-existent wind farms projects in Wyoming and South Dakota. U.S. District Judge Scott Skavdahl of Casper has set aside three weeks for a trial starting June 3. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Cheyenne is prosecuting the case. Spokesman John Powell said the office wouldn’t discuss it before trial. Defendants Robert Arthur Reed of Salt Lake City, Lauren . . .
