California, Wyoming power line begins construction, amid increasing opposition to wind power

State and federal officials will break ground Tuesday on a power line that will relay electricity from the $5 billion, 3,000-megawatt, 600-turbine wind farm in rural Wyoming to Southern California – a state legally mandated to switch to renewable energy.

The Chokecherry and Sierra Madre wind farm will be the biggest in the country upon its expected completion in 2027.

Federal regulators approved the line known as TransWest Express in April. Developers estimate they’ll prevent between 7 and 11 million tons of carbon dioxide per year and provide enough electricity to power 1 million homes, according to AP News.

TransWest Express will carry electricity 732 miles from Chokecherry and Sierra Madre in Carbon County, Wyoming to just outside Las Vegas. The line will pass through northwestern Colorado and Utah, with conversion from direct to alternating current in Utah.

Almost 60% of electricity generated in Wyoming isn’t used there but goes to other states, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Wind generation capacity in Wyoming has doubled in just four years, adding about 600 turbines – the majority of them in the southeast – since 2020, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Chokecherry and Sierra Madre will double that amount, and at least five more wind farms are planned, according to a 2022 University of Wyoming report.

In Wyoming, wind farms pose a risk to wildlife, including golden eagles and sage grouse, according to the executive director of the Western Watersheds Project, Erik Molvar.

“The real answer is to incentivize the siting of solar panels in urban areas where the electricity’s actually going to get used,” Molvar said.

The county commission of Carbon County rejected permitting for a 280-megawatt, 79-turbine project called Two Rivers, after people voiced their concerns. Commissioners told the developers to get federal approval first.

Property owners in Wyoming also opposed a 500-megawatt, 120-turbine wind farm soon to be built near the Colorado state line. They lost, but the matter reached the Wyoming Supreme Court.

The local opposition to a wind farm is a recent change in an area that previously welcomed the economic benefits with few questions, according to Carbon County Commission Vice Chairman Sue Jones.

“The companies do try to be good neighbors,” Jones said. “But it is starting to show and it is reaching a point where maybe it’s too much. It’s affecting wildlife habitat. It’s affecting the birds and the bats.”