A tentative deal has been reached between Laramie County and Canadian power agency Enbridge Inc. officers who can pay $14.5 million to rebuild a key highway in south Cheyenne that may pave the best way for the beginning of development on a $1.2 billion photo voltaic farm undertaking, the most important in Wyoming.
Negotiations have been stalled for months over a dispute over Chalk Bluff Road enhancements wanted to start work on the 771-megawatt facility with greater than 1.2 million photo voltaic panels.
The facility is required to produce electrical energy as just lately introduced Meta Platforms Inc. enterprise knowledge middlean information middle of Microsoft Corp. beneath development close to South Greeley Road in south Cheyenne and probably others on the drafting board.
Meta, previously referred to as Facebook, is basically backed by co-founder billionaire Mark Zuckerberg.
On Wednesday, Enbridge undertaking managers Christian Dick and Michael Howell met with Laramie County Commissioners Gunnar Malm, Troy Thompson, Linda Heath and Buck Holmes to draft the framework of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that might be thought of by the county planning fee on July 25, with commissioners reviewing the matter once more Aug. 6.
Under the phrases of the proposed settlement, Enbridge will share the price of rebuilding and widening a 9-mile stretch of Chalk Bluff Road resulting in the photo voltaic farm undertaking.
Enbridge will share $12 million in prices whereas the county will decide up the remaining $2.5 million. When accomplished within the fall of 2025, the highway will accommodate heavy construction-related visitors of 350 autos per day on this grassland with largely cattle ranches.
Bad stretch
“The highway just isn’t within the situation it needs to be in to facilitate the visitors that may include the undertaking,” mentioned Justin Arnold, program supervisor for Laramie County Planning and Development.
“The county is agency in its stance that we perceive that the highway just isn’t in fine condition, and for this to be a secure undertaking we have to widen the highway, deliver it as much as present county requirements,” mentioned Arnold in Cowboy State Daily. “Yes, now we have a tentative deal because it pertains to who pays for what and who does the design for Enbridge down the highway.”
The photo voltaic farm might be constructed on privately leased land in two phases south of Cheyenne, about 4 miles southeast of the capital metropolis. The facility will generate sufficient electrical energy to energy greater than 771,000 houses, greater than all of Wyoming.
The proposal provided by the Alberta-based power firm, nonetheless, targets energy from the farm for Wyoming’s giant industrial company clients and never householders, in line with the applying.
The undertaking space, totaling 3,845 acres, is positioned east of US Highway 85 and each north and south of Chalk Bluff Road and County Road 203.
The undertaking was divided into two development phases over a interval of 29 months.
Solar Delays
Construction of Cowboy Solar 1 is anticipated to start in March 2025, with business operation starting in January 2027.
That deadline was pushed again by at the very least three months within the MOU settlement reached between Enbridge and Laramie County officers. Requests for proposals on the brand new highway development are because of be issued this fall, with work scheduled to start subsequent June.
“By late fall (October 2025) we hope to have the highway accomplished, then they (Enbridge) can start progress with bringing in tools and different objects for website enhancements,” Arnold mentioned.
An entry route for emergency firefighting tools can also be required.
Commercial operation of Cowboy Solar II is anticipated to start in August 2027, however no particulars had been instantly accessible on whether or not this section of the undertaking will even be delayed by a number of months as a result of results of the MOU.
As it stands, no photo voltaic panels or 40,000-pound photo voltaic batteries could be hauled to the photo voltaic farm website till Chalk Bluff is rebuilt and an emergency entry highway is constructed to the west, Arnold mentioned.
The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality’s Industrial Siting Division authorized Enbridge’s utility for a allow in May after it was submitted for consideration in mid-January, and a public listening to was held in March.
Enbridge’s different presence in Wyoming consists of the Express-Platte pipeline that carries crude oil from western Canada to refineries within the US Rockies area. The fundamental supply level of crude oil by way of the pipeline is Casper.
When full, Enbridge’s undertaking might be Wyoming’s largest utility-scale photo voltaic farm.
The dispute over highway enhancements is said to highway security considerations and fireplace security. The fundamental highway, Chalk Bluff, was not extensive sufficient to accommodate the visitors, and the developer needed to deliver the highway as much as county requirements.
The county imposed a number of situations on Enbridge earlier than it might grant approval for the photo voltaic farm undertaking, together with constructing fireplace escape routes from the east and west of the photo voltaic farm, and offering security tools to fireplace for lithium battery power storage programs, in line with considerations. was raised by Darrick Mittlestadt, fireplace chief of Laramie County Fire District 1.
“There is a possible fireplace hazard. From an emergency providers perspective, you don’t need one website entry,” Arnold mentioned. “If a fireplace breaks out or will get uncontrolled, they solely have a method out, so the county requested a second level of entry.”
Pat May could be reached at pat@cowboystatedaily.com.