State Regulators Clear Laramie Wind Project With 26 Conditions

State regulators approved a large wind farm near Horse Creek on Monday.

The Wyoming Industrial Siting Council issued its final order for the 650-megawatt Laramie Range Wind Project, which developer Repsol plans to build northwest of Cheyenne. The permit carries 26 binding conditions that grew out of a two-day hearing held in September. Those conditions require a 2.5-mile buffer between turbines and neighboring homes, limit high-capacity well drilling near project boundaries, require bird-detection systems, and bar construction until road agreements are signed. The order also sets aside up to $11.7 million in state sales and use taxes on construction materials for local governments in Laramie and Platte counties. The state statutory cap for a project this size is $14.97 million. Repsol must hire an independent engineer to assess what road work the project requires.

The project has been scaled back since Repsol first proposed it more than a year ago. The original plan covered up to 170 turbines across roughly 56,000 acres. Laramie County commissioners rejected that version 3-1 in September 2025, citing unanswered questions about road access, fire mitigation, and water well permits. The current plan calls for up to 139 turbines on about 41,000 acres of private and state land. Repsol spokesperson Christi Schaefer said the company has worked through extensive studies and engagement with landowners, community members, and agencies, and that the project offers an opportunity for local families to preserve their land for generations.

Earlier this month, ConnectGen Laramie County, a Repsol affiliate, withdrew its conditional use permit applications with Laramie County. Schaefer said the withdrawal gives the company time to review and incorporate the state requirements into revised county applications, which it plans to file early next year. Justin Arnold, head of the Laramie County Planning Commission, said the state conditions altered the project enough that it no longer matches what Repsol first filed with the county. He pointed to the added mile of setback between turbines and surrounding property as the reason for the withdrawal. Arnold said the conditions placed on the permit made the project, to some extent, unviable for the applicant. He said Repsol intends to return to the Industrial Siting Council to amend its existing application. If that happens, Laramie County commissioners still must weigh whether the wind farm offers a net benefit to the local area.

Wendy Volk, a Cheyenne real estate agent whose family owns land in the area, said she appreciates that state regulators attached 26 binding conditions but does not see them as fully resolving her concerns. She noted that the order cites a 2.5-mile setback in one section and 1.5 miles in another. Volk said that discrepancy needs clarification and that she needs to understand whether the condition contributed to Repsol's decision to withdraw its county applications. Rancher Charlie Farthing, whose family has ranched near Iron Mountain since 1903, has leased land for the project. He previously told Cowboy State Daily that turbine leases provide an extra revenue stream that does not disrupt cattle operations, and said he hopes his grandchildren can return to the operation.

Repsol must file revised conditional use permit applications with Laramie County early next year. The county would then hold a hearing on whether to approve the project at the county level.