Jun 13 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Lindsey Erin Kroskob Wyoming Tribune-Eagle

These white giants may not seem like much from a distance.

But up close the wind turbines at the Happy Jack Wind Farm west of Cheyenne take your breath away.

Towering 285 feet high with three 140-foot-long blades, each turbine generates 7 million kilowatt-hours of energy each year.

And due to a partnership between Cheyenne Light, Fuel and Power, Black Hills Corporation and Duke Energy, the 14 turbines at the new wind farm will provide 100 million kilowatt-hours of annual energy to Cheyenne and the Black Hills community.

That's enough to supply nearly 8,500 homes with energy for a year, Duke Energy estimates.

Cheyenne Light and Black Hills Corp. customers can expect wind power in their homes this fall.

Trial operations of the facility begin this month with the full facility scheduled for completion by September.

"Basically (the wind energy) is going to be lumped into our portfolio of all our energy sources," Cheyenne Light's Bill Stockman said. "It will be included in our base load." He said he was unsure if these changes would affect energy prices.

"Typically wind energy would be a little bit higher," said Rob Morris, supervisor of energy services.

But because it is lumped in with other sources, they said they won't know what the impact will be until rates are calculated at the end of the quarter.

The Happy Jack Wind Farm is the first renewable energy generation project of its kind for Cheyenne Light.

Located on 750 acres of land owned by the city across from the Happy Jack Landfill, the wind farm also will provide money to the city in the form of royalty payments for at least 20 years, based on the contract agreement.

"Wind power is a rapidly growing and reliable power resource throughout the nation," said David Marks of Duke Energy Generation Services.

"The ample wind resource available near Cheyenne makes it an ideal location for the operation of a wind-powered renewable energy project," Marks said.

Added Stockman, "The biggest benefit is that (wind energy) is renewable. As long as the wind blows, we can generate power. It's very efficient and it clean."