A Wyoming wind farm project that could become the largest onshore farm in the United States has moved a step closer to a permit after state regulators unanimously approved the massive proposal.
The project, a creation of the Power Company of Wyoming, would consist of up to 1,000 wind turbines in Carbon County and produce up to 3,000 megawatts of electricity,
according to the Casper Star Tribune.
The power company said it would sell the electricity to Arizona, California and Nevada, which all have renewable-energy standards requiring its utilities to increase its supply of power generated from wind, solar and other similar sources.
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The Power Company of Wyoming said on its
website that the $5 billion project would be built in two phases on 2,000 acres of land.
"We are very pleased that the council voted to grant PCW a permit for its wind project," Roxane Perruso, the company's vice president and general counsel, told the Star Tribune. "This is another significant milestone in the development process."
The wind farm still has significant hurdles that could ground it. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is conducting two environmental assessments on the wind farm with the results to be released later before the end of the year.
The company is also waiting to hear from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on an eagle permit it applied for, according to the newspaper. The permit would allow the company to kill a certain number of birds each year in exchange for implementing conservation measures at its facility.
The newspaper said the power company will likely not of that agency's decision until 2015.
The
Wind Energy Research Center at the University of Wyoming said that the state is ranked tops in the country for land-based class 6 and 7 wind sites, the highest potential for wind speed and power generation. The center said Wyoming would benefit from the wind farm's construction.
The Star Tribune reported that Wyoming could earn an estimated $780.5 million in tax revenues over its eight-year construction timeline and 20 years of operation.
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