Albany County Commission addresses transparency regarding Rail Tie Wind Project, additional funding for airport
LARAMIE — Concerns about permit compliance and transparency are casting a current shadow over the 149-turbine, 504-megawatt Rail Tie Wind Project now under development in southern Albany County.
Tensions between project developer Repsol Renewables North America and local landowners took center stage at an Albany County Commission meeting on Tuesday, highlighting the ongoing friction.
ConnectGen initially led the project before selling it to Repsol Renewables, which is under the Spanish-based Repsol.
The Rail Tie Wind Project, spanning 26,000 acres primarily on private land with a 20% portion on Wyoming state land, has completed its permitting processes through Albany County and the National Environmental Policy Act. While power sale contract negotiations are reportedly ongoing with local stakeholders, not out-of-state entities, the focus of recent discussions has shifted to the project’s adherence to its approved permits.
“You have all heard previously from the (landowner) clients that Mitch Edwards represents. You’ve received letters from Mark Stewart regarding his (landowner) clients and their concerns regarding the Rail Tie Wind Project,” Deputy County Attorney Jennifer Curran said. “We reached out to Repsol, asking them to come in and speak to those concerns on their behalf so that you all have a full picture and so that we in our office can then start going through and assessing, in conjunction with David (Gertsch, county planner), where we are, what needs to be done, and then we can come back to you and give you a report on that.”
Henry Woltag, director of Western Development Repsol Renewables North America, maintained that the project has met all permit conditions required at its current stage from Albany County and Wyoming’s Industrial Siting Council.
“We contracted with Oftedal Construction Inc., a licensed Wyoming contractor, to perform the work in addition to Tetra Tech, an engineering and environmental firm to perform routinely related to the SWIP (standard work in process),” Woltag said. “Construction activity started in December of last year, and included installing 2.3 miles of access roads and excavating 10 turbine foundations over winter activities. Of course we had to break, but those include swift management and routine inspections and anticipated spring activities once the weather allows additional soil stabilization, excavated materials, drainage improvements and road mainlines.”
A key point of contention revolved around the Aircraft Detection Lighting System. Woltag stated that turbine locations were filed with the Federal Aviation Administration in 2022, resulting in determinations of no hazard for all filings.
“After those determinations were received, we submitted an ADLS application for the project to the FAA and that was subsequently approved,” Woltag said. “This project has had approval from the FAA for an ADLS and we are in compliance with the county’s requirements.”
Commissioner Thad Hoff noted that it would be best to move to public comment, stating, “I don’t share the same sentiment as my predecessor when it comes to this particular set of wind turbines, so I’m saddled with that decision.”
Commissioner Pete Gosar wondered if there was a final site map for each turbine and what mitigation would be in place for aviary birds and bats.
“We’re working on the final site plan right now and that will be submitted prior to the recommencement of construction for the project,” Woltag clarified. “We’ve been in conversation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services for years but the ‘Identi-fly’ is something that we’re trying to implement. It will detect a bird approaching and automatically trigger certain turbines to go offline.”
Hoff also wanted clarification on the height and service life of the turbines.
Woltag answered: “I believe the tallest is 660 feet, measured to the tip of the blade. Everything has a minimum lifespan of 35 years. The projects we install today, modern projects, could last 50 years or more, at which point we would consider going back to our landowners to discuss extending leases. However, the site is designed and certified for a minimum of 35 years of useful life.”
Edwards, with Nicholas & Tangeman LLC, represents landowners in the construction area. He expressed his clients disappointment and feelings of being misled.
He noted that the developers provided a site plan showing only road locations, not specific turbine sites, despite needing precise turbine coordinates for FAA ADLS submissions, indicating a lack of project transparency.
He also pointed out that, while developers have submitted around 100 ADLS applications to the FAA during the past two years, they have yet to provide commissioners with a final site plan that includes the data and corresponding FAA approvals, as required by state law.
“What we also didn’t hear was any address with respect to the updated noise study and the fact that the study coincidentally stops at the average wind speed,” Edwards said. “We know that if it’s an average that means there’s wind speeds above and there’s wind speeds below, but they didn’t address anything above 22 miles an hour is the average. What we need is the noise study for the times in Laramie and Albany County where that wind is above average wind speed and those turbines are turning.”
Stewart echoed Edwards’ concerns and expressed his bewilderment that the project’s permits have not been suspended or revoked.
Brian Carpenter, a county resident near the wind project, raised concerns about the proximity of turbines to his home.
“One of the sites is less than a mile from my home on our property and I think it’s required to be at least a mile away,” Carpenter said. “In addition, I will say that even the mile setback, what I wonder is if that’s not proportional to the turbine height. Was the mile established at a point where no one imagined that they’d be running turbines this large and therefore my question is, is the mile setback even still appropriate for this turbine size?”
Anne Brande, executive director of the Albany County Conservancy, voiced concerns from her organization, stating that landowner comments, like those from Carpenter, raised questions among her members, including why the permits hadn’t been revoked. Brande advised commissioners to consider the project’s broader impacts on the county.
Opponents of the wind farm also filed a lawsuit on Dec. 23, 2024, in the U.S. District Court of Wyoming, which was assigned to Chief Judge Scott W. Skavdahl, according to WyoFile.
The current litigation alleges the federal Western Area Power Administration, a division of the U.S. Department of Energy, failed to adequately weigh impacts on wildlife, wetlands, cultural resources and the Ames Monument.
No action was taken by the county commission about the Rail Tie Wind Project as it was a discussion item on the regular agenda.
Airport shortfall
During the same county commission meeting Tuesday, Laramie Regional Airport requested $205,000 in funding from the commissioners for the fiscal year starting July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026. The funds would be used to address a budgetary shortfall while maintaining safe, compliant airport operations in support of commercial and general aviation.
“Today, I’d like to ask the county for an investment in the airport of $205,000 for this fiscal year,” Airport Director Amy Terrell said. “As you know, we have a joint powers board that oversees the airport, and the Albany County Commission and the city of Laramie are our sponsors on our grants, and we do come to you guys for investments in the airport. Per the state statute, each entity needs to put in the same amount of money. So the city of Laramie is $205,000 for this year, as well.
“In the budget for 2025 and the proposed budget for 2026, you can see the total income is $3,013,656, that’s our anticipated income. Our expenditures are $3,262,457, leaving us in the red with a shortfall of $248,801.
“In this budget that we put together, we already have the city and county funds assuming that the county is able to contribute that $205,000 without a shortfall of $248,801 we are going to put that in our fueling numbers. We’re going to increase that number. We projected it at $104 million. We’re going to increase to about $1.6 million with the projects that we can get creative and raise some.”
Maintaining compliance with FAA regulations has proven costly for LRA. The airport recently resolved two Part 13 complaints filed in 2024, which took 13 months and an estimated $20,000 in legal fees to address. The process required extensive staff time and resources.
Recent inspections also identified minor issues, including missing placards on a fuel farm tank and a need for improved snow removal training, both of which the LRA has since addressed.
Hoff wondered if everyone at the airport pays commensurate rates for use.
Terrell clarified: “There really is no industry standard. If you look around, it’s hard to find an industry standard. Part of the average is that everything is fair and equitable. So if one entity, let’s say, if somebody’s renting a hangar from us, they’re paying their fair and equitable rates with the other hangar. If it’s a land lease, same thing. They’re both paying the same amount.”
Gosar asked while noting that while it might be outside of the direct control of the airport staff, he had heard from many people about the challenges caused by current flight timings. He highlighted that when the 6 a.m. flight was available, passengers were willing to take that risk because it allowed them to reach Denver and other destinations more timely and conveniently.
Terrell added: “That is our number one complaint in the airport community. Laramie Regional Airport is the only airport in the state of Wyoming that’s an essential air service. It is a contract where the federal government pays Sky-West (Airlines) to fly into Laramie.
“… I believe our 6 a.m. flight is over in Cheyenne right now and they know it’s a problem for us. We have talked to them about it. You’ll see the majority of our community are over supporting Cheyenne,” he continued. “We have brought up concern, I brought the legal team and we’ve all dealt with this contract. It’s the 12 round trips a week that the contract guarantees. It does not guarantee flight time. So we have very little input on it, but we do call them about it regularly and discuss it.”
This story was published on May 8, 2025.