Wind farm could have 100 turbines

Details about Colorado State University's proposed wind farm should surface soon as the university proceeds toward applying for the necessary county permits early next year.

That wind farm could include as many as 100 turbines constructed in or near CSU's 9,000-acre Maxwell Ranch property some 25 miles northwest of Fort Collins near the Colorado-Wyoming border.

The process was set in motion Sept. 22 with an invitation-only "stakeholders meeting." It was attended by 19 top officials representing CSU, Larimer County, the city of Fort Collins, technical consultants and Wind Holding LLC. Colorado State University Research Foundation, the private, nonprofit advocacy arm of the university, has contracted with Wind Holding to develop the project.

Meeting minutes indicate that the group established a public outreach strategy, discussed the permitting schedule, reviewed the status of technical studies, and assessed progress toward siting the turbines, transmission lines and substations.

A work session with the county commissioners will follow on Oct. 30 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. in the meeting room on the second floor of the county courthouse office building, 200 W. Oak St.

County Commissioner Randy Eubanks said he was compelled to forcefully insist on the work session given CSU's fierce resistance to a public forum.

"We had to jump through a lot of hoops to get an open meeting," he said. "It seems like they're a little more forthcoming but there's that secrecy that makes them look really bad."

No elected officials were invited to the Sept. 22 meeting of top officials.

"There will be plenty of outreach efforts in the future," pledged CSU spokesman Jim Beers.

The problem, he insisted, was that the university could not begin preparing a formal application until county standards were spelled out with adoption of the 1041 regulations applying to power plants, transmission lines and substations.

Those proposed regulations go before the county commissioners for consideration on Oct. 20 following the planning commission's unanimous recommendation of adoption. Principal Planner Jill Bennett said the wind farm proposal would be first to be considered under the regulations that give the county ultimate authority over permitting such facilities.

Minutes of the private Sept. 22 meeting state that permit applications for all three elements of the project will be submitted in early 2009. Once those applications are determined to be complete, public hearings will be scheduled before the planning commission and county commissioners within 90 days. A CSU spokeswoman declined to discuss the construction schedule. CSU Vice President for Research Bill Farland did not respond to a request for comment but was quoted elsewhere as saying the project could be in operation by 2010.

Preliminary findings, according to the minutes, suggest that more than 200 wind turbines could be accommodated in the vicinity of the Maxwell Ranch. About half that many would be constructed, however, "in response to stakeholder concerns."

Those wind turbines were estimated to produce about 230 megawatts of electricity. That would meet CSU's maximum demand of 16 megawatts and allow it to realize revenues from selling the rest. All power produced would be transported through transmission lines to the interconnected power grid rather than to CSU directly.

In keeping with its goal of becoming 100 percent sustainable, CSU in March 2007 announced plans to build a wind farm on the 14-square-mile Maxwell Ranch donated to the university by the Maxwell family in 1975.

Meeting minutes characterize the ranch as "the best wind resource site in Larimer County, and one of the best sites in the state of Colorado for renewable wind energy development."

That contention was confirmed by Greg Lenderink, president of one of the four homeowners associations serving what he estimated to be nearly 300 residents of the surrounding area nearly as large as Maxwell Ranch.

He said sustained winds exceeding 100 miles an hour are not uncommon. "If you set something outside you don't want, it will be in Weld County in three hours," he half jested.

Lenderink said he is organizing an informal meeting for the presidents of the homeowners associations and technical consultants to address any resident concerns.

Such outreach will follow six months of meetings by Wind Holding with key players "to avoid potential impacts to ecological resources, open spaces and visual resources by refining the conceptual turbine placements," according to the meeting minutes.

Discussing a public participation process, the stakeholders questioned, "How do we address the emotionally charged public comments prior to project design being finalized?"

CSU on Sept. 24 posted on its web site a page of brief, tentative answers to frequently asked questions. It also is scheduled to launch a "one-stop portal containing all the public information about the project."

The university also will host a neighborhood meeting for residents and property owners along Red Mountain Road and Virginia Dale Estates in November. The county will likely take the lead in facilitating a general public meeting at the Livermore Community Building in November or December. A public meeting also could be held in Fort Collins.

"We look forward to working closely with Larimer County to manage the public process," Bruce Morley, principal in Wind Holding LLC, stated in a press release. "To date, no proposal has been submitted to the county and no formal process has begun. This is an important project for the region that provides the kinds of clean and renewable energy solutions Gov. Bill Ritter seeks in his Climate Action Plan."