In Wyoming, Wind Energy is about to take off, thanks to a Transmission Line.

Under Trump's Nose, Wyoming Wind Energy Set To Explode

Clean Power Suddenly everybody is talking about Wyoming wind energy, and for good reason. The state is one of the epicenters of coal production in the US, but it is also blessed with rich wind resources. Wind farms have plenty of room to blossom in Wyoming.

 From article, (Wyoming currently ranks 15th in wind energy production in the US, but it could vault up a few notches once the sprawling Chokecherry and Sierra Madre wind farms come online.

The two wind farms first crossed the CleanTechnica radar in 2015. With up to 500 wind turbines each, the plan is for a capacity of up to 3,000 megawatts combined. The land is located on parts of a massive cattle ranch operated by the Overland Trail Cattle Company in Carbon County.

The project actually dates back to a 2008 proposal, which was greenlighted by the US Department of the Interior in 2012.

Except for a winter hiatus, work is currently under way and the turbines could be up within a year or so.

Construction of a new transmission line for the two wind farms is expected to get under way in 2019.

The planned transmission line, the TransWest Express, has been in the works since 2005. The idea is to thread a high-voltage, direct current line from Wyoming to Nevada and Arizona as well as California.

Energy Secretary Rick Perry’s notorious “grid study” and followup proposals for protecting coal grabbed a lot of headlines in 2017, but a far more intensive grid initiative is also under way at the Energy Department. That would be GMI, the Grid Modernization Initiative, which is exploring pathways for a seamless national grid (not for nothing but Perry’s grid study did include a hefty dose of good news about renewables in general and wind energy in particular).

Under President* Donald J. Trump, the Energy Department has also been pouring millions into grid resiliency projects focusing on renewable energy.

As for why Wyoming ranchers and other property owners would be willing to make room for wind turbines, last week the Wyoming News highlighted the local economic advantages of wind energy.

Writer Kristine Galloway notes that the turbine-related income paid for new equipment, purchase of the neighboring ranch, a new irrigation system that resulted in a savings of 20% for water and 60% for power, and additional water resource upgrades that are attracting more wildlife to the area.)

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