ENERGY VISION 2020
Location: Glenrock and Medicine Bow, Wyo.
Project Timeline: Regulatory approvals were accomplished in 2018-2019, construction began in June 2019, and projects are on schedule to be completed by the end of 2020.
Number of Wind Turbines: 267 for the three projects — TB Flats 1 & 2, Ekola Flats, and Cedar Springs
Energy Production: 953MW
Owner: PacifiCorp
PacifiCorp’s long-term plan is to build an energy future that is reliable, clean, and affordable, says Dave Eskelsen, company spokesperson for PacifiCorp. Through its Energy Vision 2020 (EV2020) initiative, the company is significantly expanding the amount of wind power serving customers by the end of this year.
“We’re adding new wind resources and upgrading our existing wind turbines,” Eskelsen says. “The new wind projects are expected to power the annual energy needs of more than 400,000 typical homes, create hundreds of construction jobs, and add millions in tax revenue to rural economies.”
PacifiCorp, a state-regulated electric utility, serves 1.9 million customers in six western states. The company owns and operates one of the largest privately held transmission systems in the nation and owns 16,500 miles of high-voltage transmission lines spanning 10 states. As part of EV2020, PacifiCorp is currently constructing three different wind farms in the state of Wyoming. The company selected the sites based upon wind density, access to electrical transmission, and availability of land.
Two of the projects — the 500MW TB Flats 1 and II and 250MW Ekola Flats — are located near Medicine Bow, Wyo., while the third wind farm, the 520MW Cedar Springs, is situated close to Glenrock, Wyo. As part of the project, the company built new infrastructure.
“An integral part of EV2020 involved the construction of new transmission segments of our overall Energy Gateway transmission initiative,” Eskelsen says. “This includes 140 miles of new transmission lines connecting new and existing substations on PacifiCorp’s network.”
As the construction project progressed, the workers were challenged by the weather conditions in Wyoming and the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Timing of certain construction tasks had to be scheduled to allow for the cold temperatures of winter and the heat of summer,” Eskelsen says. “The 2020 construction season was also impacted by the worldwide pandemic, which required significant precautions for worker and public safety.”
With the finish line for the projects in sight, PacifiCorp is looking forward to the three wind farms coming online.
“At PacifiCorp, we share a bold vision with our customers for a future where energy is delivered affordably, reliably, and without greenhouse gas emissions — a future where our vast, modern energy grid connects local communities to the low-cost and reliable energy they need to innovate and achieve their goals,” Eskelsen says. “We know it’s possible because it’s already happening.”
