Reclaimed coal mine will site a 99 MW windfarm
GLENROCK, Wyoming, USA, July 25, 2007. A utility in Wyoming will install 66 turbines on a site that was a surface coal mine for more than 40 years.
Pacific Power has requested a certificate of public convenience and necessity from the Public Service Commission as part of its efforts to advance the 99 MW project. Located 12 miles north of Glenrock in Converse County, the former coal mine operated from 1958 to 2000, supplying 104 million tons of coal during that period. Commonly referred to as the Glenrock Mine, it was the second surface coal mine developed in the Powder River Basin.
“We are pleased to announce plans for a new Wyoming wind energy facility that will benefit customers by adding new cost-effective renewable energy to our electrical system, as part of a comprehensive strategy to achieve a more balanced mix of resources used to generate electricity," says Pat Reiten of Pacific Power.
The windfarm will contribute to the 2,000 MW of renewable energy that the utility’s owner, PacifiCorp, wants in its generation resource mix by 2013. Construction will begin as soon as all permits and approvals are in place, with anticipated completion by October 2008.
The proposed site is located on land owned by the company and encompasses 14,000 acres, a portion of which includes the former mine site. The windfarm will use 66 GE turbines, along with associated towers, foundations, roads, cables and communications equipment for operation of the wind facility.
All aspects of the project will be monitored to ensure that reclaimed lands are maintained in accordance with the company’s mine permit. The project will be designed and constructed to limit the impact by new facilities and equipment required for plant operation. Access and construction will remain limited to designated areas.
Full-scale reclamation efforts to restore the 9-mile stretch of land used for mining began in 1999 and were completed in 2005. Land was re-seeded with native vegetation and major contouring performed to return the landscape to its pre-mining appearance. Providing grazing land and habitat for livestock and wildlife was part of the award-winning reclamation, which was recognised for excellence by both the state of Wyoming and the U.S. Department of the Interior Office of Surface Mining.
Wyoming has the potential to site a large number of wind projects, and the utility’s latest Integrated Resource Plan specifically identifies the state as a location of new wind facilities. Testing at the Glenrock site revealed good wind strength and availability, and the location is in close proximity to an existing transmission system.
Pacific Power is evaluating several other locations, both within the state and outside, to determine the most appropriate sites for new windfarms. A diverse resource portfolio that includes both coal and renewable resources, as well as natural gas and hydroelectric generation, is expected to result in the overall least-cost/least-risk balance for Pacific Power customers, the company claims.
Based in Portland, Oregon, Pacific Power provides service to 713,000 customers in Oregon, Washington and California. As part of PacifiCorp, it has 9,062 MW of capacity from coal, hydro, gas turbines, wind and geothermal power.
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