Could wind be Goshen County’s open door into U.S. energy markets

TORRINGTON – EDP Renewables North America LLC is one of the largest wind farm developers in North America. Currently EDP NA, has 41 wind farms across North America that generates 5,800 megawatts of power, and it is looking at Goshen County as a logical place to expand its operations.
“There are two things we look at when considering an area for wind farm development,” said Aron Branam, senior development project manager for EDP NA. “First is a good wind resource, which Wyoming and Goshen County has.
“Next we look at the transmission grid and any areas with high electricity usage. Denver is just a few hundred miles away and it is one of the largest consumers in the Rocky Mountain region. Both of those factors make Goshen County look favorable.”
Branam said other considerations include a supportive landowner base, access to rail, a transportation hub and a central highway, all of which he said Goshen County satisfies.
“We have a significant amount of land under lease from the original project,” Branam added. “Enough for the project as it was conceived.”
The project is the Buffalo Bluff project, which was started in 2006 by Horizon Wind Energy, which was owned by Goldman Sachs. In 2007, EDP Renewables acquired Horizon Wind Energy and in 2011, it rebranded HWE into EDP NA.
“The Buffalo Bluff project has a lot of steam for the first few years after we acquired it,” Branam said. “We were leasing land, doing project analysis and environmental studies.
“But in 2009 through 2011, there was a weak market for the purchase of any electricity, so we pared down on our projects around the country, including Buffalo Bluff.”
Recently, Branam and members of his team met with Goshen County Planner Gary Childs to discuss the county’s proposed wind energy regulations
“Since the project got started in 2006 development (of Buffalo Bluff) has never ceased,” Branam said. “We’re invested in the project and will continue to invest in the project, but we wanted to make sure we’re providing helpful feedback to the county, that it is a collaborative effort between the county and the companies involved with regard to wind farm regulations.”
“The regulations, as they are proposed, are fairly reasonable. We appreciated the chance to collaborate with the county and everyone involved.”
Goshen County has been developing wind farm regulations for several years and recently held its first public meeting on proposed regulations developed by the county’s planning commission.

“EDP got a hold of me originally and asked about our wind energy regulations,” Childs said. “I told them we were in the process of adopting regulations and sent them a copy of our draft proposal.
“(EDP) then asked if they could meet with us and myself, the county surveyor and road and bridge met with them a few weeks ago. They wanted to know about the roads in the area of the wind farm and any permits they might need to move the
project forward.”
Childs said EDP AM could not attend the public meeting to receive comment on the wind regulations, but they submitted a copy that had been highlighted and commented on he areas they wanted to have some input.
“They offered some helpful comments,” he said. “All of the comments we received were helpful and the planning commission reviewed them and made the changes to the proposed regs they agreed upon.”
The revised wind farm regulations have been submitted to the county commissioners and there will be a final public hearing on June 18. At that time, the commissioners could vote to accept the proposed regulations, reject them, or send them back to the planning commission for further revisions.
As for EDP NA’s involvement, Childs said the company seemed to be interested in pursuing the project, though there were no specific plans laid out.
“It was our interpretation that the reason for their interest and input in the proposed regs was because they want to move forward with the project,” he said, “They asked to be kept in the loop and we are happy to do that.”
Since its inception, the Buffalo Bluff project has been projected to generate between 100 and 300 megawatts of electricity, the final output being dependent on the marketability of its energy.
A 300 megawatt plant could cover 30,000 acres, or more, Branam said, depending on the constraints placed on the project.
“As a rule of thumb you can use 100 acres per megawatt. But a very small fraction of that is actually used up for the energy production.
“Only one or two percent of the land will actually be impacted for roads, turbines and
transmission lines.
There is no timeline for construction to begin on the Buffalo Bluff project, there are still a lot of T’s to cross and I’s to dot, but Branam said EDP NA is committed to the project, but he doesn’t have a crystal ball to look into the future and see when construction may begin.
“The constraint now is the reduction in Production Tax Credits for wind farms,” he said. “Currently, construction must start by 2020 to take advantage of the PTC, but we really can’t foresee what may happen in the future.”
But Branam, reiterated that EDP NA is invested in Buffalo Bluff and they are committed to continue to invest in the project.
A 100-megawatt wind farm could employ as many as 200 workers during the construction phase, though it would only take about 10 employees to manage the site once
production begins.
“We measure the benefits to locals on three levels,” Branam said. “There is the local goods and services that are bought during the construction phase. Then there are the tax benefits the project will bring to the local economy. And lastly, there are the micro-benefits in the form of lease payments to the landowners.”
Wind farm jobs are the fastest growing niche in the United States right now, Branam said. Community colleges in Colorado have put programs in place to help meet the demand for those jobs.
“The O&M positions on the wind farm are skilled labor positions,” he said. “We are building wind farms that will be operating for 20, 30, 35 years into the future. Should the PTC go away and wind farm construction come to a halt, the farms we have built now will still need workers for decades to come.”
It may not be this year, or next year, or even by 2020, but Branam believes the Buffalo Bluff project has a place in Goshen County’s future.
“We have invested a lot in this project, that hasn’t changed. We believe (Buffalo Bluff) will eventually be a big benefit for the county.”