Wind power in Wyoming

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Wind resource map at 50m above ground Wyoming wind resource map 50m 800.jpg
Wind resource map at 50m above ground

Wyoming has one of the highest wind power potentials of any state in the United States. In 2019, Wyoming had wind powered electricity generating capacity of 1,589 MW, which produced 9.85% of its electric generation, with an additional 3,753 MW under construction. However, the wind generation in that year was Wyoming's third-lowest in the 2010s. [1] By 2020, wind capacity increased to 2738 MW [2] and 8448 gigawatt-hours of electricity were produced from wind in 2021, [3] more than double 2019 production. Additional wind capacity and needed transmission lines are under construction or planned, despite political headwinds from Wyoming's strong coal and oil sectors. [4]

Contents

Resource

Wyoming's geography of high-altitude prairies with broad ridges makes the state an ideal site for the development of wind resources. Other factors that positively affect Wyoming's wind power development potential include transmission capabilities, [5] the high energy needs of nearby population centers, [5] high public support of wind power development in the state (97% support), [6] and the historical importance of energy sectors to the state's economy. [7]

Disadvantages to large-scale wind power production include competition from fossil fuels industry, as coal power provided 42.7 TWh (90%) [8] of Wyoming electricity in 2016, compared to 3.8 TWh for wind. [9] Wyoming taxes wind power [10] with $1/MWh which provided the state with $3.8 million in 2015. [8]

The Big Hollow is a wind eroded deflation basin located to the west of Laramie, Wyoming in the United States. It is the second largest wind eroded depression in the world. The Big Hollow is the largest deflation basin in North America.

History

At the end of 2013 Wyoming had the highest per capita wind power capacity. Per Capita Wind Power by State 2013.svg
At the end of 2013 Wyoming had the highest per capita wind power capacity.

The first two wind turbines in Wyoming were constructed in Medicine Bow on September 4, 1982, by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the United States Department of Energy. The wind turbines were the largest in the U.S. The two turbines included the WTS-4 at 391 feet tall, and the MOD-2 at 350 feet tall. Mayor of Medicine Bow Gerald Cook held an event with 500 residents at the construction site and declared September 4 "Wind Turbine Day." [11]

Wyoming's first commercial wind farm was the Foote Creek Rim wind project located near Arlington completed on April 4, 1999. This 85 MW (megawatts) wind project had 69 wind turbines, and it is located in one of the windiest locations in the state. Due to average winds of 25 mph in the area, the wind project has a capacity factor of 43% of peak output annually, which is higher than most wind farms. As of 2016, the Foote Creek wind project has 183 turbines with a generating capacity of 134.7 MW. [12]

In 2003, the Wyoming Wind Energy Center began operations. It has 80 turbines with a 144 MW capacity and is located near Evanston in Uinta County. [13]

In 2008, the Glenrock Wind Project outside of Glenrock began operations on top of a reclaimed surface coal mine. PacifiCorp, the owner, "believe[s] this is the first wind facility in the West to recycle land that once provided fossil fuels into one that captures renewable energy." The wind project has 66 turbines that generate up to 99 MW, [14] later up to 158 MW. [4]

Seven Mile Hill and Seven Mile Hill II began operations between Hanna and Medicine Bow. It has 79 turbines with a generating capacity of 118.5 MW. [15] In 2008, Mountain Wind Power, LLC and Mountain Wind Power II, LLC began operations. They have 67 turbines with a 140 MW capacity. [16]

As of 2016, Wyoming had 1,489 megawatts (MW) of wind powered electricity generating capacity, responsible for 9.42% of in-state electricity production. [17] Wyoming produced of 3,800 GWh in 2015, [9] about 9% of the total. [18]

Wyoming Wind Generation by YearWyoming Wind Generation Capacity by Year
Wind power in Wyoming
Wind power in Wyoming
Wind generation since 2001

(gigawatt-hours) [3]

Wind generation capacity since 2001

(Installed megawatts) [2]

In November 2008, the New York Times reported a land rush in Wyoming in anticipation of future wind power development projects. Citizens and land-owners in Wyoming have formed numerous "wind associations" in the hopes of collectively bargaining for higher compensation for the use of their land in wind power production and transmission projects. [19] Most of these associations are located in the wind-power dense counties of southeastern Wyoming, including Platte, Converse, Goshen and Laramie counties.

In 2010, the High Plains and McFadden Ridge Wind Energy Project near Rock River began operations with 66 turbines. It has a capacity of 99 MW. Three Buttes Windpower, LLC, began operations in Converse County near Glenrock and has 66 turbines with a 99 MW capacity. Casper Wind Farm began operations near Casper in Natrona County and has 11 turbines with a generating capacity of 16.5 MW. [16]

Energy Transportation Inc., headquartered in Casper, is a well-known logistics firm that transports overweight and outsized components used in the wind power industry. [20] The Casper landfill is also a disposal site for windmill blades. [21]

In 2010, Dunalap I began operations near Medicine Bow. It has 74 turbines with 111 MW capacity. The Top of the World Windpower Project began operations in Converse County near Glenrock and has 110 Turbines with a 200 MW capacity. [16]

On November 16, 2016, Microsoft Corp bought 237 MW of wind power from Duke Energy's Happy Jack and Silver Sage wind farms in Wyoming along with Allianz Risk Transfer AG's Bloom Wind Project in Kansas to power a data center located in Cheyenne. This was the largest wind purchase in the history of Microsoft. [22] Between 2011 and 2017, no wind farms were built in Wyoming. [4]

The Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Wind Energy Project [23] is the largest commercial wind generation facility under development in North America. Power Company of Wyoming has applied to the BLM to build approximately 1,000 wind turbines in an area located south of Rawlins, Wyoming, in Carbon County. The project is proposed to generate 2,000 to 3,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity and construction may take 3–4 years with a project life estimate of 30 years. [24]

Wind energy generation

Monthly wind power production in Wyoming between 2008 and 2015. In GWh. Wyoming monthly wind power production, 2008-2015.png
Monthly wind power production in Wyoming between 2008 and 2015. In GWh.
Wyoming Wind Generation in 2011
Wind power in Wyoming
Wyoming Wind Generation (GWh, Million kWh)
YearTotalJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSeptOctNovDec
2001366262322131623232323586254
2002447423835403430303434394546
2003367453348232419121422354448
2004617774663506337313344514676
2005716684874575352353746509898
20067591048851655939323738788880
2007755779471524443234052709099
200896367818263375141515391133213
20092,22719417723512813913810396129252263373
20103,246283217235301260208196187204316429410
20114,613550461494442374290214223203375511476
20124,369632357503347304294174201184399481493
20134,434556442407404308262165170285366461608
20144,405618456509412258271177191218357506432
20153,758443398357264240159206202259284445501
20164,389497558435300261207264218276429381563
20174,320400392413409391295244265275416398422
20184,057358332419423314348278288293309340355
20194,162358355351377347313321290369358363360
20205,5145764993793222933593332762844746801,039
20218,4488267427106875874773814935277521,0501,216
202210,1981,1561,0881,0271,0288316224824495327259351,143
2023922995917

Source: [25] [26] [27]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wind power in California</span> Electricity from large wind farms

Wind power in California had initiative and early development during Governor Jerry Brown's first two terms in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The state's wind power capacity has grown by nearly 350% since 2001, when it was less than 1,700 MW. In 2016, wind energy supplied about 6.9% of California's total electricity needs, or enough to power more than 1.3 million households. Most of California's wind generation is found in the Tehachapi area of Kern County, California, with some large projects in Solano, Contra Costa and Riverside counties as well. California is among the states with the largest amount of installed wind power capacity. In recent years, California has lagged behind other states when it comes to the installation of wind power. It was ranked 4th overall for wind power electrical generation at the end of 2016 behind Texas, Iowa, and Oklahoma. As of 2019, California had 5,973 megawatts (MW) of wind power generating capacity installed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wind power in Iowa</span> Electricity from wind in one U.S. state

Making up over 62% of the state's generated electricity in 2022, wind power is the largest source of electricity generation in Iowa. In 2020, over 34 billion kWh of electrical energy was generated by wind power. As of 2022, Iowa has over 12,200 megawatts (MW) of installed capacity with over 6,000 wind turbines, ranking 2nd and 3rd in the nation below Texas respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wind power in Oregon</span> Electricity from wind in one U.S. state

The U.S. state of Oregon has large wind energy resources. Many projects have been completed, most of them in rural Eastern Oregon and near the Columbia River Gorge. Wind power accounted for 12.1% of the electricity generated in Oregon in 2016.

There are a number of wind power projects in the state of Maine, totaling more than 900 megawatts (MW) in capacity. In 2020 they were responsible for 24% of in-state electricity production. In 2019, Maine had more wind capacity than the other five New England states combined, at 923 MW.

The Capricorn Ridge Wind Farm is located in Sterling and Coke counties, Texas. The wind farm does not create any air and water pollution to the surrounding counties. It is a 662.5 MW wind farm, with 342 GE 1.5 MW wind turbines and 65 2.3 MW Siemens turbines that are capable of generating enough electricity for more than 220,000 homes. With all four phases combined, there should be over 400 turbines after the project commissioned in 2007. The wind farm is built, owned and operated by a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources, the U.S.' largest wind energy generator who is also known for generating electricity using natural gas, oil solar, wind and nuclear. This company, together with its subsidiaries owns, operates, develops, constructs and manages electricity and energy generating facilities in not only the U.S. but also in Canada and Spain. The project is part owned by San Antonio-based Sullivan Trillian Fund Private Equity. Its property Offtaker is Energy Market- ERCOT.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wind power in Minnesota</span> Electricity from wind in one U.S. state

At the end of 2016, the installed capacity for wind power in Minnesota was 3,500 megawatts (MW). Wind power generated nearly 18 percent of Minnesota’s electricity in 2016, ranking sixth in the nation for wind energy as a share of total electricity generation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wind power in Illinois</span> Electricity from wind in one U.S. state

Wind power in Illinois provided nearly 10% of the state's generated electrical power in 2020 powering 1,231,900 homes. At the end of 2020, Illinois had 6,300 megawatts (MW) of wind power installed, ranking fifth among states for installed wind turbine capacity. An additional 1,100 MW of wind power was under construction across the state at the end of 2020.

Wind power in Indiana was limited to a few small water-pumping windmills on farms until 2008 with construction of Indiana's first utility-scale wind power facility, Goodland with a nameplate capacity of 130 MW. As of September 2017, Indiana had a total of 1897 MW of wind power capacity installed, ranking it 12th among U.S. states. Wind power was responsible for 4.8% of in-state electricity production in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wind power in Pennsylvania</span> Electricity from wind in one U.S. state

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In 2016, Arizona had 268 megawatts (MW) of wind powered electricity generating capacity, producing 0.5% of in-state generated electricity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alta Wind Energy Center</span> Wind farm in the Tehachapi Mountains of California

Alta Wind Energy Center (AWEC), also known as Mojave Wind Farm, is the third largest onshore wind energy project in the world. The Alta Wind Energy Center is a wind farm located in Tehachapi Pass of the Tehachapi Mountains, in Kern County, California. As of 2022, it is the largest wind farm in the United States, with a combined installed capacity of 1,550 MW (2,080,000 hp). The project, being developed near Tehachapi Pass Wind Farm— site of the first large-scale wind farms installed in the U.S. in the 1970s and 1980s—is "a powerful illustration of the growing size and scope of modern wind projects".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wind power in Colorado</span> Electricity from wind in one U.S. state

The US state of Colorado has vast wind energy resources and the installed electricity capacity and generation from wind power in Colorado has been growing significantly in recent years. The growth has been sustained due to a combination of falling costs, continuing federal incentives, and the state's aggressive renewable portfolio standard that requires 30% of the state's electricity to come from renewable sources by 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wind power in Michigan</span> Electricity from wind in one U.S. state

Wind power in Michigan is a developing industry. The industrial base from the automotive industry has led to a number of companies producing wind turbine parts in the state. The development of wind farms in the state, however, has lagged behind. In January 2021, there were a total of 1,481 wind turbines in the state with a nameplate capacity of 2,549 MW. The nameplate total exceeded 2,000 MW when Pine River came online in March 2019. Wind provided 4.2% of the state's electricity in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wind power in Oklahoma</span> Electricity from wind in one U.S. state

The U.S. State of Oklahoma has high potential capacity for wind power in the western half of the state. In 2021, Oklahoma's installed wind generation capacity was almost 10,500 megawatts, supplying over 40% of the state's generated electricity and 85% of Oklahoma's total generating capacity from all renewable resources.

As of the end of 2021, New Mexico had 4,001 megawatts (MW) of wind powered electricity generating capacity, responsible for 30% of electricity produced that year. Wind power in New Mexico has the potential to generate more than all of the electricity consumed in the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wind power in Hawaii</span> Electricity from wind in one U.S. state

Wind power in Hawaii has the potential to provide all of the electricity generation in the electricity sector in Hawaii. The 132 commercial wind turbines in the state have a total capacity of 236 MW. In 2015, wind turbines produced 6.4% of Hawaii's electricity. In 2012, Hawaii generated 367 million kWh from wind power.

The Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Wind Energy Project is large-scale wind farm located near Rawlins, Wyoming, currently under construction. If completed as scheduled in 2026, it is expected to become the largest wind farm in the United States and one of the largest in the world. Located largely on federal lands, the project is being built in conjunction with the TransWest Express transmission line to supply power to the California market. Originally slated for completion in 2020, the goal was extended to 2026 in 2019 amid permitting, environmental, and construction delays.

Wind power in Arkansas remains nearly untapped, with just a single wind turbine in the state. Arkansas does not have a renewable portfolio standard. Studies have concluded that while Arkansas is generally considered to have low wind resources, there are significant pockets of it throughout the state.

References

  1. ↑ Wind Energy in Wyoming
  2. 1 2 WINDExchange: U.S. Installed and Potential Wind Power Capacity and Generation
  3. 1 2 "Electricity Data Browser". EIA. U.S. Dept. of Energy, Energy Information Administration. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 Outcalt, Chris (April 1, 2020). "Wyoming Confronts Its Wind-Powered Destiny". Wired. Archived from the original on August 21, 2020.
  5. 1 2 "Wind Energy in Wyoming | Wind Energy Research Center | University of Wyoming". www.uwyo.edu. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  6. ↑ "UW Poll: Wyomingites Favor Many Energy Solutions | Wind Energy Research Center | University of Wyoming". www.uwyo.edu. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  7. ↑ Survey, Wyoming State Geological. "Wyoming State Geological Survey". www.wsgs.wyo.gov. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  8. 1 2 "Wyoming lawmakers want to limit utility usage of in-state wind energy". Utility Dive. 2017-01-17. Retrieved 2017-01-22.
  9. 1 2 2016 State of the Interconnection page 23. WECC , 2016. Archive
  10. ↑ Joyce, Stephanie; Radio, Wyoming Public. "Wyoming Considers Raising Nation's Only Wind Tax". Inside Energy. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  11. ↑ Bailey, James. "The Medicine Bow Wind Energy Project." Historic Reclamations Project. (Bureau of Land Management. 2014), 1. PDF
  12. ↑ "Wind Energy". www.blm.gov. 2016-07-28. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  13. ↑ "Wyoming Wind Energy Center | Renewable Northwest". www.rnp.org. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  14. ↑ "Glenrock Wind Project." PacifiCorp. 2011.
  15. ↑ "Seven Mile Hill I & II Wind Farm | Open Energy Information". en.openei.org. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  16. 1 2 3 "Rocky Mountain Power's Wind Projects." Rocky Mountain Power. 2010. PDF.
  17. ↑ "Wyoming Wind Energy" (PDF). U.S. Wind Energy State Facts. American Wind Energy Association. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  18. ↑ Popovich, Nadja (2018-12-24). "How Does Your State Make Electricity?". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2019-01-07.
  19. ↑ Barringer, F. "A Land Rush in Wyoming Spurred by Wind." New York Times. 27 Nov 2008.
  20. ↑ Transporting wind turbine components
  21. ↑ Martin, Chris (February 7, 2020). "Wind Turbine Blades Can't Be Recycled, So They're Piling Up in Landfills". Yahoo. Retrieved 2020-02-07.
  22. ↑ Eagle, Becky Orr Wyoming Tribune. "Microsoft data center in Cheyenne to be powered by wind energy". Casper Star-Tribune Online. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  23. ↑ Power Company of Wyoming: Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Wind Energy Project
  24. ↑ Bureau of Land Management (2011-07-22). "Chokecherry/Sierra Madre Wind Energy Comment Period Opens".
  25. ↑ EIA (July 27, 2012). "Electric Power Monthly Table 1.17.A." United States Department of Energy . Retrieved 2012-08-15.
  26. ↑ EIA (July 27, 2012). "Electric Power Monthly Table 1.17.B." United States Department of Energy . Retrieved 2012-08-15.
  27. ↑ EIA. "Electricity data browser - 1.17". United States Department of Energy. Retrieved 2014-08-18.
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