I have to thank my girlfriend, Nina Bookout (one of the terrific Victory Girls), for the heads up on this happy, people power news.
The folks in Laramie County, Wyoming, went in and went in BIG, objecting to a planned wind farm in their county that was going to be absolutely massive in scale.
The Laramie Range Wind Project, as proposed, would cover 56,000 acres, have 170 turbines once it is completed, and be three times the size of the city of Cheyenne.
In the northwest corner of Laramie County, approximately 20 miles north of Cheyenne, an energy company is looking to erect a wind farm of up to 170 wind turbines across more than 56,000 acres.
…She said it is a long process, and the energy company, Repsol, has been working with the Farthings on this project for several years now. That has included studies on the wind levels in the area, and impact studies on the wildlife and biology of the area.
If approved, the project will be conducted in two phases. The first phase consists of construction of wind turbines to generate 400 megawatts of energy, and the second comprises the remaining 250 megawatts to achieve the goal of 650 megawatts fully operational by 2029.
…Repsol estimates the project would be a $1.1 billion investment if fully completed, and said it will have a lifespan of at least 35 years.
All that was a bit too much for the folks living in those remote areas. They had questions about the use of the public land being proposed for the project, not to mention the sheer volume of construction crews on their little-traveled back roads.
…Volk says that while the roughly 50,000 acres of privately owned land are at the disposal of the respective property owners to do with as they wish, the 6,100 acres of public land “is one of the reasons I think everyone should be tuned in. Whether you live in proximity to this project or not, you own a part of this project.”
Volk says one concern is traffic during construction. “What they are saying is during peak construction, they will have 305 construction workers a day driving our Horse Creek Road. They are saying, I think, 275 semi trucks a day.” Volk says that is an important consideration, and that it wasn’t initially disclosed in a letter the company sent out in June.
None of which were addressed in the initial friendly, chirpy prospectus sent out by the Spanish energy firm Repsol.
So they’d been working on fighting the plans for the project for a while, gathering every bit of information about the turbines themselves and the effect on local flora and fauna as well, much as East Coast advocates have been doing, trying to protect marine life as they battle planned offshore installations.
One of the really unique and valid arguments against the turbines was the vibrations produced when spinning and the effect of those on earthworms.
Well…hello. I think everyone knows how integral earthworms are to the circle of life, but I can honestly say I would have never thought to argue for them.
That shows the difference between a suburban dwelling weekend gardener like me and a guy who lives out where the farmers do, God bless him.
SAVE THE WORMS
In an unincorporated part of western Laramie County known as Horse Creek, landowner Ryan Schneider is worried about Wyoming’s earthworms.
He believes wind turbines create vibrations that could potentially lead to the displacement of earthworms, making them easy prey for birds and other predators. He said the vibrations may eventually erode the soil from a lack of oxidization from the earthworms.
“Huge swaths of land [will] be losing this crucial aeration creature,” Schneider told Laramie County officials last week. “That’s been a concern of mine. I’m not a farmer myself, but I do support my neighbors who are — and ranchers — and this has been on my mind.”
And there is science to back him. Turbines in the ground, earthworms leave.
…A 2021 study by researchers at the Netherlands’ Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam found vibrations created by wind turbines negatively affected “earthworm abundance.” While the vibrations are not hazardous to humans, they have a significant impact on small animals living in the soil, such as earthworms.
“Larger soil animals, such as earthworms, are particularly likely to be impacted by the low-frequency turbine waves that can travel through soils over large distances,” the study reads. “Earthworms, for instance, are considered to be crucial ecosystem engineers and an impact on their abundance, survival and reproduction may have knock-on effects on important processes such as water filtration, nutrient cycling and carbon sequestration.”
…Distance from a turbine, they noted, was a reliable predictor of the number of earthworms that could be found in an area, with a majority of worms being located away from the turbines.
“We found that, on average, the number of earthworms decreased by 40% at the point furthest away from the turbines compared to the closest point to the turbines where we measured,” researchers wrote. “Our results confirm that earthworm abundance decreased substantially as the amplitude of vibrational noise increased.”
And the soil is poorer for it.
The Laramie County Commissioners met last night for a final public meeting and then to vote on the proposal.
It was very well attended, and everyone had a chance to make their case.
Going on right now in Laramie County, is a contentious commissioner meeting relating to the Laramie Range Wind Farm application.
The commissioners have asked several questions, relating to what assurances the energy company can provide the county and residents. pic.twitter.com/9XBtF8QJ1E
— Southeast Wyoming Sentinel (@SEWyoSentinel) September 17, 2025
The company touted the investment potential and the windfall to the landowners who were leasing parcels for the projects. There were, of course, the de rigueur appeals to conscience as far as stewardship of Gaia, the need for more ‘clean energy,’ and a chance for the county to be a ‘leader.’
WHATEVER
There were also assurances that they’d thought of everything as far as protecting bats and eagles, etc – lots of whizbang techy stuff to save those critters from head lopping and dewingings.
…Repsol is also using camera technology to detect eagles flying near the turbines, Poe said. A turbine that detects an eagle nearby, she said, would shut down until the eagle leaves the area.
Repsol relocated nine proposed turbines away from mule deer and antelope habitat so as not to impact their migration patterns, Poe said.
“Since 2019 we have been performing significant due diligence and studies,” she said. “The project avoids and minimizes adverse impacts on the environment.”
That’s where some of the locals started to zero in for the rhetorical kill.
…Don Carlos also questioned how eagle spotting technology would stop a 250-foot blade when they spin at a rate of about 200 mph. Stopping the blade, he argued, would take too long to avoid striking an eagle.
Those in attendance applauded at the end of his comments.
Another citizen who spoke appeared to have caught the company in a bit of shading as far as turbine placement location and challenged the company to ‘show us the numbers.’
…Cheyenne Realtor Wendy Volk presented the commissioners with maps that she claimed more accurately depict Repsol’s proposed project area. She argued the company has not been faithful in representing the location of its turbines relative to her family’s ranch.
“It’s impossible,” she said, while showing an image of Repsol’s map. “I think if you have $1.1 billion to invest in this community, you could give a map that would show landowners how their ranches will be affected.”
Volk also said Repsol appears to be purposely withholding specific numbers regarding the economic and environmental impacts of its project. She called on the company to “show us the numbers.”
“I keep thinking, ‘Why didn’t we hear about this?’” she asked. “I don’t think the company has done a good enough job to reach out to us, the citizens to establish a proposed relationship.”
Scarce water resources were another serious concern. Where does a fire truck or sufficient water to fight a turbine-created blaze come from in a naturally semi-arid landscape that is already challenged for water?
In the end, though, the overriding sentiment seemed to have been expressed by one of the commissioners themselves when she said…
“Once we lose it, we can never get it back,” she said.
Public comments wrapped up, the commissioners banged heads, and in the end?
…After hearing all public comments, the commissioners held a discussion where they agreed to introduce some amendments to the plan. Those included road use agreements, aircraft lighting for wind turbines, eagle detection, a 2,000-gallon fire truck to the county, and requiring all water use through state engineer’s office.
That vote failed due to a 2-2 tie. The commissioners then went immediately to the deciding vote and denied the Laramie Wind Range project.
Commissioners Zwonitzer and Don Hollingshead each agreed the risks outweighed the potential benefits. Hollingshead said he was reminded of the Dr. Seuss book The Lorax in hearing the debate, adding “once it’s gone, it’s gone.”
ONCE IT’S GONE, IT’S GONE
Sanity prevailed.
Sanity and a reverence for the unspoiled, wide-open vistas they still have.
Well done.
We can’t fight the good fight without your help.
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