A "utility-scale" wind farm on CSU's Maxwell Ranch north of Fort Collins is once again without a developer after a private company withdrew due to concerns about how to transmit the power from it. In an announcement Monday, San Diego-based Cannon Power Group said the project was "not commercially attractive".
A "utility-scale" wind farm on CSU's Maxwell Ranch north of Fort Collins is once again without a developer after a private company withdrew due to concerns about how to transmit the power from it. In an announcement Monday, San Diego-based Cannon Power Group said the project was "not commercially attractive".
A "utility-scale" wind farm on CSU's Maxwell Ranch north of Fort Collins is once again without a developer after a private company withdrew due to concerns about how to transmit the power from it.
In an announcement Monday, San Diego-based Cannon Power Group said the project was "not commercially attractive" and terminated its lease agreement with the university. The company had planned to develop, design and build a wind farm on 8,000 acres of the 11,000-acre Maxwell Ranch property.
"We may have to adjust our timetable ... and think about whether this is the right site. But we're still very interested," said Bill Farland, vice president for research at Colorado State University.
This is the second time a deal to build what CSU …
... more [truncated due to possible copyright]A "utility-scale" wind farm on CSU's Maxwell Ranch north of Fort Collins is once again without a developer after a private company withdrew due to concerns about how to transmit the power from it.
In an announcement Monday, San Diego-based Cannon Power Group said the project was "not commercially attractive" and terminated its lease agreement with the university. The company had planned to develop, design and build a wind farm on 8,000 acres of the 11,000-acre Maxwell Ranch property.
"We may have to adjust our timetable ... and think about whether this is the right site. But we're still very interested," said Bill Farland, vice president for research at Colorado State University.
This is the second time a deal to build what CSU originally called the Green Power Project has fallen through.
Former CSU President Larry Penley gained major attention when he announced the Green Power Project in early 2007, promising the wind farm would be up and running within eight years.
A developer called Wind Holding LLC was initially supposed to develop the wind project, but its contract was terminated last year after the company ran into financial trouble.
Cannon's first lease payment to the CSU Research Foundation would have been due at the end of the year.
CSURF is a university-affiliated nonprofit that works in part to maximize use of CSU's real estate portfolio. CSURF planned to lease the space to the company, which would have built and operated the farm.
The farm was originally expected to span 8,000 acres, include 100 turbines, each on a tower 290 feet tall, and produce more energy than CSU consumes. CSU wants to use lease payments from the developer to support research.
Area residents oppose the project, which would be east of U.S. Highway 287 and north of Fort Collins.
In a statement, a Cannon spokesman said the company would continue to seek opportunities for similar projects in Colorado.
Much of the concern raised by Cannon was over how to transmit the power from the wind farm to electric customers.
The area lacks the necessary transmission lines and substations to handle the additional load. There are no plans by any utility companies to build the lines before 2014, Farland said.
"Cannon's decision was based on a number of extenuating circumstances including the lack of a viable near-term transmission capacity solution in Northern Colorado," the company said in a statement provided by spokesman Justin Knighten.
Farland said CSU believes there are other prospective partners who might still want to build the project. He said university officials have no timeframe for deciding whether to try again.
"These facilities are being built all over the country," Farland said. "There are still these kinds of these opportunities, but the pieces do have to come together."