Just about any sunny afternoon of the year, the famous (and infamous) Wyoming wind blows its hardest across the high prairie. While it has been cursed millions of times for its velocity and consistency this is, in fact, an economic blessing for the people of the state.

         And it is during mid-afternoon when the demand is highest for electricity in hot places like southern California, Arizona and Nevada.

         State legislatures in states like those have been turning to renewable energy sources like solar and wind in recent years as a way to cut down on pollution, which they think is caused partially by power plants using fossil fuels like coal and natural gas. Wyoming is the country’s leading producer of coal and one of the largest producers of natural gas.

         Meanwhile, some of the biggest wind-powered projects on the planet are also being developed here in Wyoming and have been in the news lately. But before going into that, let me tell you about an experience that we had on our motorhome trip through California last month.

         On a very hot, sunny afternoon in October we drove our motorhome across an amazing bridge over Lake Herman east of San Francisco. The 275 wind turbines at the Shiloh Wind Farm to our east were not turning when I was watching them while crossing a massive bridge on Interstate 680, and that is the problem with renewable energy in California.

         In the famous 1605 book, Man of La Mancha, the protagonist is a knight-errant named Don Quixote, helped along by his faithful squire, Sancho. 

         In southern Wyoming, Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz is today’s Quixote.  And a Greybull native named Bill Miller serves as his Sancho, as they have worked for years to create what might very well be the largest wind farm in the history of America.

         In that old book, Quixote thought huge windmills were invading giants and it was his job to deal with them. And today, out here in the windy west, Anschutz and Miller are certainly tilting at everything that has to do with windmills.

Awhile back, a media outfit called Pacific Standard sent reporter Gabriel Kahn to find out about this windy project. His story focused on Wyomingite Miller who has worked at the 500-square mile property in Carbon County called the Overland Trail Ranch. It was Miller who first took notice of the ever-present monstrous winds that blew every afternoon. 

         That article pointed out how Wyoming’s afternoon winds are of high value to California power brokers because power is generated here at the same time that it is needed the farther west.

When it comes to the future of renewable energy in America, Wyoming’s abundant, cool afternoon winds are viewed as a gold mine. And one of the biggest prospectors in this modern day gold rush is that incredibly patient Denver billionaire with some Wyoming history.

         Anschutz has been trying to get the country’s biggest wind turbine project built for the past decade and it is still stalled by proposed state taxes, state and federal regulations and environmental studies. All these hurdles might guarantee that this most-environmental friendly project may never come to fruition.      Anschutz might as well be building a coal-fired power plant or even a nuclear plant.

         His plan calls for a 500-windmill project in phase one that would transport electricity along a proposed power line from Wyoming to California. 

         Some years ago, a map of Wyoming was distributed which showed the highest wind rates across the state.  The highest areas were in the Laramie Peak area, also along an area paralleling Interstate 80.

         It seems that not just Union Pacific trains and huge semi trailer trucks follow that Interstate 80 route – but brisk winds do, as well. Of course, we all know that.  Most anyone who has driven that Interstate has horror stories to recall.

         Anschutz’s horror stories include some of environmental regulation issues.  He hired squads of observers because there was fear that the 32-story high windmills with their 200-foot long blades would obliterate eagles.  Some wind farm owners across the country have been fined and treated like criminals because of eagle kills.

The ultimate bad news for Anschutz in all this is that these delays could cause the project to be much smaller than envisioned.  So much green power is now being generated by local California resources, the obvious need for Wyoming wind power of just a few years ago may not be as acute today.