Hanwha Renewables eyes Belvoir Ranch for its next solar project
Laramie County, Wyo. — Just recently, a portion of the city owned Belvoir Ranch was officially opened for public use.
However, a new project has publicly emerged for this land following a recent Cheyenne City Council work session, one that looks to add to what the already prevalent wind turbines on the land provide, energy.
Ward II Councilman Tom Segrave states, “this is a project that’s been in the works for five years. It’s been a council goal. And really what it is, is just a an asset of the city that’s underutilized.”
South Korea’s Hanwha Renewables is looking at partnering with the city to lease and develop a 1,200 to 3,300 acre 140 MW solar and energy storage farm out on the east side of 18,000 acre Belvoir Ranch to provide and generate sell-able energy.
Proposed as “Wrangler Energy Park” the solar panels are said to be “co-located among the existing wind project,” but in speaking to Ward II Councilman Tom Segrave unlike the turbines, the panels will be out of sight.
“This is a long ways away from the the public access, it’s a large canyon type of a project. Hanwha’s thought is they could put the solar panels on the bottom and part way up the canyon walls,” states Segrave.
Segrave states approximately 1,200 acres are looking to be leased to Hanwha, “one of the larger solar providers in the country.”
Segrave tells WNN he expects the energy will be sold to Black Hills Energy, stating “the more power that Black Hills can acquire without putting out their own money is a win for them.”
The council member explains currently the land in discussion is for grazing and brings in about $200,000, but he is expecting with Hanwha stepping in the city would receive “about $1 million a year” while the rest of the land can still be grazed.
Additionally, WNN is told if Hanwha does acquire a lease, more work still needs to be done before construction can even begin such as buildability and environmental studies.
Segrave adds, “Even if this agreement goes forward, that doesn’t guarantee that the project’s going to move forward. They have to do all of that study before they could seek permits. They’re going to look for any, any habitat that might be impacted. They’re going to look for vegetation, Native American artifacts.”
Hanwha also states in a presentation document, “while unlikely since the existing wind project was able to proceed, there’s always a possibility of study results so unfavorable that the project cannot proceed.
Hanwha is no stranger to solar projects in Laramie County, as its “South Cheyenne Solar” project just north of the Colorado border on the side of US-85 is in the works, and is the reason Segrave first got in contact with the company, according to him.
Wyoming News Now had an interview set up with a representative from Hanwha to get the companies take on this development, however on Wednesday they cancelled due to an unforeseen circumstance.