Rocky Mountain Power to build Wyoming wind projects
Rocky Mountain Power will spend $1.5 billion on four new wind energy projects in Wyoming.
The four projects will expand the utility’s owned and contracted wind power by more than 60 percent and add enough wind energy to power approximately 450,000 average homes.
The four selected projects are:
A 400 MW wind project in Converse County, Wyoming, which will be built by NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, with half of the project owned by PacifiCorp, and half of the project owned and delivered by NextEra under a Power Purchase Agreement. A 161 MW wind project in Uinta County, Wyoming, which will be built by Invenergy, LLC, and owned and operated by PacifiCorp. A 500 MW wind project in Carbon and Albany Counties, Wyoming, which will be built, owned and operated by PacifiCorp. A 250 MW wind project in Carbon County, Wyoming, which will be built, owned and operated by PacifiCorp.
“The new wind projects are part of the company’s Energy Vision 2020 initiative, which will significantly expand the company’s Wyoming wind fleet and benefit the state and local economies,” said Cindy A. Crane, Rocky Mountain Power President and CEO. “The project also includes a 140-mile segment of the Gateway West high-voltage transmission line in Wyoming to connect the new wind energy to Rocky Mountain Power’s grid.”
Rocky Mountain Power said the projects would create between 1,100 and 1,600 construction jobs in Wyoming and more than 200 full-time positions. It will add about $120 million in tax revenue during construction and post-construction annual tax revenues from $11 million in 2021 to $14 million annually by 2024.
Construction is expected to begin in 2019.
