NOVEMBER 18, 2024|
Photo – Map showing Two Rivers site – Courtesy BluEarth Renewables
BluEarth Renewables held a public information meeting in Medicine Bow last week to discuss the Two Rivers Wind Energy Project.
The Two Rivers Wind Energy Project is a proposed 38-turbine, 280-megawatt power plant set to be constructed north of Medicine Bow. Last Thursday, November 7th, BluEarth Renewables held the last of three public meetings about the project. Executive Vice President of Regulatory, Engineering, and Construction Jamey Fitzgibbon explained that the Canadian power company has used the meetings to update the public on the status of the Two Rivers project.
Development work on the Two Rivers wind energy project began in 2016. BluEarth took over the project from the original developer, Intermountain Wind, two years later, in 2018. Since that time, the Canadian energy company has completed surveys with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Wyoming Game and Fish Department.
Fitzgibbon said the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, permitting process is nearly complete and he hopes to meet with the Board of Carbon County Commissioners early next year to request permission to begin construction.
If the county commissioners sign off on the project, Fitzgibbon said construction should begin in 2026 with the wind machines generating power two years later in 2028. However, the state and federal permitting process may delay the project.
Fitzgibbon said BluEarth will employ roughly 170 workers when construction on the 15,600-acre Two Rivers project begins. The executive vice president said his company will push contractors to hire as many local workers as possible, a usual promise made by wind power companies. After construction is finished, Fitzgibbon said BluEarth will need a maximum of ten permanent employees to run and maintain the facility.
The Two Rivers wind project is expected to generate $16 million in state and local taxes during construction and $111 million in wind taxes over its 30-year lifespan.
Fitzgibbon encouraged people to visit bluearthrenewables.com for more information about the Two Rivers Wind Energy Project.
