WYOMING — The Wyoming Supreme Court is upholding Albany County’s 2021 approval of the proposed Rail Tie Wind Project (RTWP) by rejecting a landowner’s bid to block the project.
The 500 megawatt project includes approximately 26,000 acres of ranchland on private and Wyoming State Lands near Tie Siding, Wyoming. Close to 50 local landowners opposed the project by arguing that the permitting process was incomplete and the special-use permit was inaccurately approved.
The Wyoming Supreme Court found that the commissioners fulfilled everything the law required of them to approve the permit.
The aim of the RTWP is to transmit the renewable energy generated by the wind facility to the equivalent of approximately 180,000 households in order to offset roughly 900,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.
According to the RTWP Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), the RTWP would slightly decrease available habitat for big game species and disturb habitat for small game and nongame species. The EIS saw “no expected population or community-level effects” for avian species during construction but did confirm the increased risk of bird and bat mortality from turbine collisions.
Read more about Wyoming’s shift from coal-fired plants to renewable energy programs with projects including a new high-voltage transmission line and Pacific Corp’s planned switch to solar and wind.
