On Monday afternoon, Mike Stephens was moving cattle on his family’s ranch, with the Laramie Mountains stretching across the horizon.
Stephens’ views and concerns about how the Wyoming Board of Land Commissioners approved a lease for the Pronghorn H2 wind project prompted him to file a lawsuit against the board.
“It is right in my backyard. “I border it,” said Stephens, referring to an area outside Glenrock that his family first settled in 1912. “It is beautiful. It resembles our Tetons and Bighorn Mountains.”
Nobody wants windmills blocking their views, so why should Converse County residents give up their scenic and bucolic vistas?
That’s a question that keeps coming up, according to Stephens, who believes the Board of Land Commissioners did not follow proper procedures when it voted 4-1 to approve a lease covering approximately 13,838 acres of state land in Converse County.
The lease was granted for the Pronghorn Clean Hydrogen Center, a 302.5-megawatt wind project that would cover approximately 46,000 acres total, including private lands.
Pronghorn H2, LLC, a subsidiary of Acciona and Nordex Green Hydrogen, is developing the project. It intends to use wind and solar power to generate “green” hydrogen jet fuel.
Stephens is concerned that the technology is unproven and that the lease is only for 45 years, leaving the project vulnerable and putting Wyoming in a difficult position.
“That is what I am worried about. “The state would be stuck with it all,” Stephens told Cowboy State Daily while taking a break from moving cattle. “Wind farms have sold out. And this is a hydrogen thing, which no one knows anything about.”
Legal Steps
On April 30, Stephens submitted a “Petition for Review of Administrative Action.”
That is the first step when a private citizen wants to challenge a Wyoming Board of Land Commissioners decision, according to Patrick Lewallen, Stephens’ attorney in Casper.
During its April meeting, the Land Board voted 4-1 to approve the leasing of state land for the Pronghorn project in Converse County and Sidewinder in Niobrara County.
Both still require approval from the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality’s Industrial Siting Division and the Siting Council.
In the meantime, Stephens’ lawsuit requests that the Eighth Judicial District Court in Douglas investigate how the Land Board reached its decision to approve the lease.
“This is just to get the ball rolling,” explained Lewallen. “We’ve scheduled a briefing to really determine the issues and contentions. “We are still putting together the brief and information.
The follow-up brief in Stephens’ lawsuit is due in late June, according to Lewallen.
“Our biggest concern is whether or not the wind leasing rules allow for this type of lease,” Lewallen told me. “And the other concern, is there adequate protection for the event that this project goes bankrupt in terms of funding reclamation and that type of stuff?”
Stephens may also request that the court consider how the Pronghorn project will affect sage grouse protection areas, he said.
The Wyoming Attorney General’s Office is representing the Land Board in this matter.
“Our office does not comment on pending litigation,” said Senior Assistant Attorney General Jim Peters to Cowboy State Daily.
Private Investment
The Pronghorn project in Converse County represents $1.7 billion in private investment and is expected to create 107 total jobs, with a total labor income of $10 million per year.
“The total taxes estimated to be paid over the 35-year life project is a total of $471 million — $144 million to the state of Wyoming and $327 million to Converse County,” according to business projections.
When reached on Monday, Focus Clean Energy President Paul Martin responded to Stephens’ lawsuit by emphasizing the benefits he believes his company will bring to Wyoming.
“The Pronghorn project will use private investment to responsibly develop Wyoming energy resources and create Wyoming jobs,” Mr. Martin stated. “The majority of the Pronghorn project is situated on private land.” The state land leases included in the project were given written consent by state leaseholders, thoroughly reviewed by the Office of State Lands and Investments, and approved by the State Lands Investment Board.
Martin added that the project is still in its early stages and will have to comply with “Wyoming’s strict regulations that protect water, wildlife, and cultural resources.”
“We are committed to working with the community to develop a project that respects private property rights and creates new opportunities in Converse County,” says Martin.
Growing Opposition
In May, Focus Clean Energy confirmed that one private landowner is involved in Converse County and that the company is now paying for leases for the Pronghorn project.
According to Stephens, a growing number of the landowner’s neighbors are coming out against the project.
“There’s a whole grassroots thing going on here in Glenrock and Douglas and it’s growing like you wouldn’t believe,” according to him.
He cited social media as evidence of the burgeoning opposition movement, which appears to have produced the website www.againstpronghornh2project.com.
Stephens said he plans to attend an event on Saturday, June 7, when Secretary of State Chuck Gray will continue his outreach tour by meeting with opponents of the Pronghorn and Sidewinder projects.
“Chuck Gray is going to come there and speak on why he voted no,” Stephens said, referring to Gray’s lone no vote on April 3 when Gov. Mark Gordon, State Auditor Kristi Racines, State Treasurer Curt Meier, and Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder approved the Pronghorn and Sidewinder leases.
Gordon and other state officials have expressed support for the Pronghorn project as part of Wyoming’s energy diversification strategy, citing the state’s “open for business” approach to working with energy developers.
However, for Stephens, the issue boils down to protecting something irreplaceable for future generations of his family.
On June 9, Stephens will welcome his first great-grandchild.
“That would be the seventh generation,” Stephens stated. “If they go a 45-year lease, they’ll never see the view I see.”
