CASPER — A proposed 2,010-arc solar farm and battery storage facility on private ranch land has received the green light from the Natrona County Planning Commission.

The commission gave approval for the development 24 miles northwest of Casper at its Tuesday meeting by a 3-1 vote.

Members Hal Hutchinson, Sabrina Kemper and Robert Grant voted in favor of the application from EG Haystack Solar LLC, a subsidiary of Infinity Global, while Chad McNutt voted against.

EG Haystack’s plan is to build a 199-megawatt large-scale solar power generation system along with 100 MW of on-site battery storage.

Two people spoke in favor of the project, while several residents spoke against it.

“I have a hard time seeing the benefit of this project given the cost, given everything we’ve heard,” McNutt said. “There just doesn’t seem to be a huge benefit.”

Hutchinson said he understood some of the environmental and wildlife concerns expressed earlier by residents. But planning rules and regulations allow a solar farm to be built on Natrona County land zoned for rural, agricultural and mining.

Additionally, the development would be private land, not public land, he said.

“We have a property owner who wanted to do something with his property, and we have written rules and regulations that say he can do it,” he said.

A profit of 40 million dollars

Infinity Global representative Dale Harris said the solar farm located just south of U.S. Highway 20/26 and just east of Natrona Road would produce a net benefit to the county of at least $40 million. dollars over the estimated lifespan of the project, i.e. 30 years.

Modeling for the project shows the county would receive $45 million in property taxes over a three-decade period. He estimated there would be 250 construction jobs and a $379,000 benefit in state lodging taxes.

Harris said the location was chosen because of its zoning and solar panels were allowed there. The plan includes a substation, panel area, access roads and a medium voltage collection system.

As part of the approval recommendation to county commissioners, planners cited the need for the project to go through the Wyoming Industrial Act application process, which will address many of the concerns.

Residents opposed to the project cited potential fire hazards, pollution, construction traffic, the project’s effects on wildlife and solar glare from the panels.

Planning Commission consultant Shawn Gustafson said the process mandated by the Industrial Establishment Act would address many of the issues raised by residents regarding the environment.

Harris said the site’s setback distance from the highway and rural location were chosen to prevent it from being overbearing.

For those concerned about metals leaching into groundwater from the panels, he said the site’s panels would not contain any cadmium telluride that could pollute groundwater. Typical panels would be 76 percent glass, 10 percent plastic polymer, 8 percent aluminum, 1 percent copper, and less than one percent silver or other metals.

“We work with Wyoming Game and Fish,” Harris said. “We will avoid any wet areas on the site and we will not have any leaks of dangerous chemicals.

He said the site would have three migration corridors for animals to “mitigate potential environmental impact”.

Fire problems

Planners heard a presentation from Natrona County Fire Chief Brian Oliver, who said concerns about increased fire risk from the project would primarily involve lithium storage batteries as well as fires. grass that would encroach on the installation.

Oliver said fighting a grass fire amid the panels would be a challenge, but a lithium battery fire would be the main concern for area residents and the department, even though they are now safer .

“When there is a problem with lithium batteries, especially on this scale, it becomes a pretty major event,” he said. “This can be catastrophic for several reasons.”

Harris said the company has submitted its emergency management plan to the county and Oliver, and will “work with” the fire chief to ensure there is a “wildfire mitigation plan “.

Traffic concerns raised by residents and the Wyoming Department of Transportation will also be addressed, Harris said. WYDOT recommended the need for a left turn lane at the site due to heavy traffic during construction.

The Natrona County Highway Commission says the Natrona Road bridge will not accommodate heavy equipment. Harris said the company will use a private access road on the property that can accommodate the heavy equipment.

Sheila Kilts of Kaycee said she owns the land the project will take place on and revenue from the project will benefit the county.

She said that as a landowner, she should be allowed to host the project because it is her land, “as long as it doesn’t harm any of my neighbors.”

“We’re a state with a huge energy industry and we’re not here to say we’re against other energy industries,” she said. “We support gas, we support coal, we support all of these things. This is an added advantage. An additional source of energy for the State.

“Keep it ranch”

Residents who voiced opposition to the project Tuesday included Robert Coon, who said he recently purchased 40 acres not far from the proposed site for his retirement. He said there are several others like him who live in the area and are looking for a rural lifestyle.

“They say they have safety protocols in place to stop any soil contamination. It’s not going to happen,” he said. “I worked 20 years in the oil business. It’s going to be affected one way or another.

“I am against the project. I mean, 2,000 acres of ranch land? Keep it at the ranch.

Homeowners Robert and Melisa Schillinger wrote that they oppose the project because the construction site “encroaches on the only subdivision in the entire area, significantly harming the view and tranquility of residents and would eliminate the natural tributary of water from Reid Canyon Draw and Johnson.” Canyon.”

Scott Engle, a resident of the Pine Mountain subdivision, said he found it hard to believe the project would not produce solar glare, as the company claimed.

“There are a whole bunch of people on Pine Mountain, about 6,000 feet above sea level, who can see Casper,” he said. “We’re going to see this, and it’s going to be a huge horror.”

He also questioned where the company would sell its electricity because “it would be too expensive” for Wyoming.

The recommendation for approval will be placed on the Dec. 3 agenda for consideration by the Natrona County Board of Commissioners.

Harris told planners that Finally Global has operations in a dozen states as well as overseas.

Elsewhere

Wyoming has become a target for large solar farms.

Endbridge Inc. plans to build a massive $1.2 billion solar farm project in southern Cheyenne, which would have 1.2 million solar panels generating up to 771 MW of electricity when fully operational. Once built, it will be the largest solar farm in the state.

It is necessary to power a new Meta Platforms Inc. Data Center (Facebook)under construction on South Greeley Road in southern Cheyenne.

Another project near Yoder requires a $155 million solar park with 326,000 hail-resistant panels to withstand the harsh weather of Wyoming’s “Hail Alley.”

In Goshen County, a solar project proposed installing panels on poles tall enough to also use the land below for grazing sheep.

Dale Killingbeck can be reached at [email protected].