Plans are moving forward for a wind turbine project in southwest Wyoming, and the public comment period was recently extended.
The Jackalope Wind Energy Project proposes to build 213 wind turbines, spanning almost 300,000 acres in Sweetwater County, with about half on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land.
Micky Fisher, BLM lead public affairs specialist in Wyoming, said it’s all still in the early stages of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process. It opened for public scoping in March.
“Although contrary to some popular belief, I assure you, whenever we do go out for public comment, public scoping, we are looking at these comments as they come in,” Fisher said.
He said they found people wanted more time – so the comment period was extended from April 17th to May 2nd.
The Rocket Miner reported that a big concern is how the wind turbine blades will be disposed of. Blades last about 25 years, and in Wyoming many end up in the Casper landfill.
“We're looking at 213 wind turbines being associated with the proposed plan from the proponent on this one. That's a lot,” Fisher said. “Yeah, that's a whole lot. And that is an absolutely valid concern.”
This’ll be addressed in future BLM reports, such as the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), expected later this year on the project.
Other concerns that have come up are impacts to the future oil and gas industries, according to the Rocket Miner. Again, something that will be looked at more closely in the EIS.
Potential impacts the BLM has already identified include big game migration routes, sage grouse habitat, recreation and visual landscape.
If the wind farm project is built as proposed, it’ll power about 250,000 households. The electricity generated from the turbines will go to the nearby Jim Bridger Power Plant.
