The Wyoming Infrastructure Authority is tracking seven major electrical transmission proposals at a combined cost of $15 billion, potentially adding 15,000 megawatts of new electrical generating capacity in and around the state. It's the shared ambition of Wyoming, which wants the economic benefits of exporting power, and Western states that want additional megawatts to come from cleaner forms of energy.

Mounting opposition from private landowners has prompted federal regulators to take an additional five to six months in the analysis of the Gateway West Transmission Line Project. The proposed high-voltage transmission line would span 1,150 miles from Glenrock to Melba, Idaho.

Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter and Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal praised in separate press releases July 16 a decision by electric utilities and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to look at alternative routes for the Gateway West transmission project proposed by PacifiCorp and Idaho Power Co. The decision came in response to mounting concerns from constituents.

Cheyenne Wind developers have asked the Department of the Interior to review Wyoming's sage grouse protection policy in light of the state's recent hard-line stance against building wind farms in important habitat areas for the chicken-sized birds. ...Wind developers say they're concerned that Wyoming's position could "abruptly halt wind energy development in Wyoming's sage-grouse 'core areas'.

A utility company on Friday agreed to a settlement of more than $10 million following the electrocution of dozens of eagles, hawks, owls and other birds in Wyoming. PacifiCorp pleaded guilty to 34 violations of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Shickich in Casper ordered the utility to pay a $510,000 fine and $900,000 in restitution.

The state's recent decision not to allow wind development in critical sage grouse habitat essentially takes 75 percent of Wyoming's best wind resources off the table, according to one independent wind energy company. In response, wind developers are teaming up with wildlife agencies across nine western states to launch a $10 million, five-year research effort.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says it opposes construction of any wind farms in Wyoming's core sage grouse population areas, a position that wind developers say could have a chilling effect on their plans in the state. Brian Kelly, supervisor in the agency's Wyoming field office, made the comments in a letter Tuesday responding to an inquiry from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.

There may be a place for local decision-making on wind farm siting, but the situation now is confusing for wind developers. Throw in the fact that wind turbines on federal land require additional analysis and approval by the Bureau of Land Management, and you have multiple levels of permitting that most certainly contain some inconsistencies.

It seems likely that any expansion of Tasco Engineering Inc.'s proposed wind farm on scenic White Mountain in southwest Wyoming -- from the 36 wind turbines already permitted by the county to possibly 237 wind towers -- will hinge on whether a some sort of deal about the placement of the turbines and their visibility from town can be reached.

Wyoming is working to prevent low-flying aviators from crashing into the hundreds of towers that wind-energy speculators have erected to measure development potential. ...This spring, the state began requiring all new met towers over 50 feet tall, or those that change ownership or lease, to be marked so they're visible in daylight.

The federal government has charged PacifiCorp and Exxon Mobil Corp. in two unrelated cases with killing scores of migratory birds in Wyoming, according to court documents filed last week in U.S. District Court in Cheyenne. PacifiCorp, which does business in Wyoming as Rocky Mountain Power, is charged in a 34-count criminal information document with the deaths of 38 golden eagles at power poles in six counties from December 2007 to February 2009.

State officials recently reached a decision not to allow wind development -- or even a pilot study -- in Wyoming's sage grouse core areas. It's a potentially huge blow to several wind development projects, including Horizon Wind Energy's Simpson Ridge project and Power Company of Wyoming's Sierra Madre and Chokecherry wind projects -- all in Carbon County. Gov. Dave Freudenthal issued the core areas sage grouse management plan by executive order in August 2008.

The commissioners tabled the important vote on the county's first substantial wind energy project after more than four hours of public discussions at Rock Springs City Hall during the Tuesday night meeting. Tasco Engineering Inc. of Lehi, Utah, is seeking a conditional use permit to expand its proposed White Mountain Wind Farm. ...Commissioners said they wanted to be "very, very careful" and review all of the information presented during the formal public hearing before making a decision.

Neighbors opposed to Chevron Global Power Co.'s wind farm northeast of Evansville on Tuesday lost their attempt to have a judge review and invalidate the Natrona County Commission's approval of the permits for the project. ...The neighbors are considering their next moves and fuming at the decision by Natrona County District Judge Thomas Sullins.

A newly formed alliance of landowners in southeast Wyoming says its has more than 6,000 megawatts of wind energy resources, but not enough power line transmission to finalize deals with developers. ...The alliance went before the Wyoming Infrastructure Authority board last week to advocate that more electrical transmission capacity be made available to independent generators.

Wind power development in southwest Wyoming could get a big boost tonight from the Sweetwater County Commission. The three-member board will meet at 5:30 p.m. in Rock Springs City Hall to gather public comments -- and possibly vote on -- a proposal by a Utah wind developer to build 237 wind turbines on White Mountain. Tasco Engineering Inc. of Lehi is spearheading the county's first substantial wind energy project.

Developing a wind turbine manufacturing and servicing industry in Natrona County is hampered by a lack of buildings large enough to house the massive equipment, a local economic development expert says. Robert Barnes, president and CEO of the Casper Area Economic Development Alliance, pointed out that it takes a large structure to contain a bay area that can accommodate a 75-foot wind turbine blade.

Federal officials are again delaying whether to list sage grouse in 11 Western states as threatened or endangered -- leaving in limbo until at least 2010 a spate of industries that could face sweeping restrictions if the bird is protected. The chicken-sized grouse ranges from Montana to California alongside livestock grazing, oil and gas drilling and an increasing number of wind power turbines.

A company plans to build a $420 million wind farm with 133 turbines in southwest Campbell County. San Ramon, Calif.-based Third Planet Windpower is eyeing 14,000 acres for the project on both sides of Wyoming Highway 50 near the Johnson County line. The company has begun talking to local landowners about leasing land.

Campbell County has been the epicenter of energy development in Wyoming since the county's first coal mine opened. Then came the oil, followed by natural gas. But many thought Campbell County would not buy into the wind energy industry. ..."The wind is not quite as good (as it is in southeast Wyoming), but it is still economically developable," Clark said. "It is just so far from transmission."