August 7, 2012
Wyoming

Wyoming wind farm among projects prioritized by Obama

By ADAM VOGE Star-Tribune energy reporter | trib.com 6 August 2012

A Wyoming wind farm is on a list of seven U.S. renewable energy projects fast-tracked by the Obama administration.

The Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Wind Energy Project proposed for Carbon County is one of seven wind energy projects given special attention by the Bureau of Land Management and the Department of the Interior today, the White House announced late Monday.

The project, proposed by Denver-based Anschutz Corp. subsidiary Power Co. of Wyoming, will bring 1,000 turbines on 230,000 acres south of Rawlins. The project could generate up to 3,000 megawatts of energy, making it the largest of its kind in the United States.

“We’re certainly pleased to be recognized,” said Kara Choquette, a spokeswoman for the company. “Designations like this validate the significance and importance of this wind energy project not just from an environmental aspect but from an economic aspect.”

The BLM had already listed the project in late 2011 as one of several in the state to be expedited in 2012. An environmental impact study is expected to be completed this year.

According to a release from the White House Press Secretary’s Office, the project is now slated for final approval by October 2014.

Other projects receiving attention are in California, Nevada and Arizona.

“As part of President Obama’s all-of-the-above strategy to expand domestic energy production and strengthen the economy, we are working to advance smart development of renewable energy on our public lands,” Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in a statement. “These seven proposed solar and wind projects have great potential to grow our nation’s energy independence, drive job creation and power economies across the West.”

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/08/07/wyoming-wind-farm-among-projects-prioritized-by-obama/