Yoder, WY April 8th, 2024 — One of the largest agrivoltaics projects in the State of Wyoming is about to be constructed at the Goshen Solar facility in Goshen County. Greenvolt Power and Cowboy Energy have partnered to construct the 1,200 acre solar facility with a $155 million initial investment.
The new solar farm is considered dual-use as it utilizes a unique strategy where agricultural and energy production co-exist and “share sunlight.” The practice is called agrivoltaics, which is defined by the U.S. Department of Energy as an energy system with raised panels to allow ample room for crops to grow and livestock to graze.
GoCoNOW recently had a chance to speak with Paul Stroud, Development Manager at Cowboy Energy. Paul, who lives in Sheridan, WY, is a Professional Engineer with many years of experience in the field, developing energy projects in the US and all over the world. Paul explained that the solar panels for the Goshen Solar Project will be raised to allow for the growth and grazing of native grasses beneath the solar panels.
“Most places where they have solar plants – you probably see a lot of cement slabs and a lot of construction that tears up the land itself,” said Stroud. “What we’re going to do is pile-drive posts into the ground and leave them considerably higher off of the ground so that livestock can graze and crops can grow – similar to projects that have been done in Poland and Germany.”
When asked about their decision to construct the facility in Goshen County, Paul said that the “banana belt” offers ample sunlight.
“Goshen County is known as the banana belt of Wyoming with an average of 228 days of sunshine per year, while the US on average only has about 205,” said Stroud. “We made our presentation and found out there was a great deal of support in the community itself. We went to the Economic Development Board, the Rotary Club…we had a lot of general meetings in the area and discussed agrivoltaics as a win-win situation for the agricultural industry as well as the energy industry.”
Paul also explained some of the economic impacts that Goshen County can expect to realize.
“Short-term, there’s going to be about 250 temporary construction jobs that will be implemented,” said Stroud. “There will probably be about $8 million in sales tax revenues to the county, about $35 million in property taxes over a 30 year period, about $6 million that goes into Goshen County government, about $26 million to Goshen County schools, $3 million going local special districts, and there will be a substantial boost to the county’s finances for essential services and infrastructure.”
According to a press release from Cowboy Energy, the project is expected to add 163 megawatts to the state’s energy pipeline. Paul says that there are several directions in which the power could be transported.
“We’ve got several directions it could go,” said Paul. “Wyoming has about 17 times the amount of energy that we need, so some of it will probably be heading towards Colorado, or if we get in with Basin it could be heading West.”
Paul said that the companies are working on a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), and they are hoping to begin construction once that is completed. The project is planned to be completed by the end of 2026.
To learn more about Cowboy Energy, visit their website.
