New wind projects could generate thousands of jobs, billions in revenue

Despite a drought in new wind development proposals over the last decade, about $8 billion could flow into ongoing wind energy projects in Wyoming, providing one possible solution to the state’s precarious revenue outlook.

Primarily located in the blustery prairie of Carbon and Converse counties, about a dozen wind projects in various stages of growth could unlock sizable economic returns and increase the state’s energy capacity some five times over. If the wind projects already in permitting or construction phases come to fruition, approximately $7.1 billion and 4,700 new jobs could result, according to the Center for Energy Economics and Public Policy. That estimate excludes projects still in their planning stages.

“Wyoming has a really difficult economic development challenge ahead,” said Rob Godby, economist at the University of Wyoming. “We, like the rest of rural America, are looking for an economic base that can support and sustain us.”

Although a thriving wind market will likely never replace the colossal revenue stream coal once provided, it may be a critical part of the future, according to several energy experts. But myriad hurdles often stand between wind energy proposals and their actualization — from limited transmission line capacity and lawmakers’ ambivalence over taxation, to onerous permitting requirements in the state. This chapter in wind energy leaves Wyoming with a decision: to invest in wind or leave it to neighboring states, Godby noted.

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(Casper Star Tribune)