colorado approval sought for construction of 500-megawatt wind farm

Work could begin later this year on a $743 million wind farm in eastern Colorado, 15 miles to the north of the town of Cheyenne Wells.

What is being called the Cheyenne Ridge Wind Project will go up on roughly 100,000 acres along the line between Cheyenne and Kit Carson counties.

The Trade Wind Energy company, based in Lenexa, Kansas, had originally entered into a build and transfer agreement with Xcel Energy to complete the project.

But Xcel, which has offices in Minneapolis, has now taken over getting the wind farm built due to concerns that the facility might miss getting federal production tax credits.

The deadline for those credits is December 31, 2020.

Xcel has submitted papers to the Public Utilities Commission of Colorado in the hope of getting the project approved.

Analysts say that once that happens, work on the wind farm will proceed quickly.

With annual revenues in excess of $11 billion, Xcel in recent years has been working to expand its wind power profile.

The company, which provides energy for homes and businesses in Colorado and New Mexico, has set a goal of producing totally carbon-free electricity by the year 2050.

By Garry Boulard

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