My husband and I just purchased 100 acres of land 4 miles South of Lingle, WY. It sits on top of a hill, is flat land, and seems to be nice and windy. Also, we are right next to the major power lines for our rural electric company. It seems like the perfect spot for a wind farm. Any advice or suggestions?

Hi TerriSue,

We get this question a lot. The first step is to determine if you have a good wind resource. National Renewable Energy Laboratories has wind resource maps for down load:

NREL Wind Resource Map

Generally a good wind resource for a project is a Class 4 or better wind resource though some projects have been developed in Class 3 regions.

Being next to transmission is generally good for a utility scale wind project. This means when you get to the interconnection portion of project development it will be easier and, more importantly, less expensive.

I've also contacted the Wyoming Business Council's State Energy Program. Wyoming has an anemometer (wind measurement device) loan program. The person to contact about this program is Dale Hoffman. His phone number is:

Dale Hoffman
307-777-2805
dhoffm@state.wy.us

The program gives priority to projects in eastern and northern Wyoming as there has not been much activity in resource assessment in those areas. I told their office that you were located adjacent to transmission lines and they said that this improves your chances of being accepted for the program if you apply. Give Dale a call to find out more about the program. He would also be a good resource to use for more information specific to Wyoming.

Also feel free to post more questions or contact me or anyone at Windustry if you have more questions.

Thanks and Good Luck!

Brian