The following is an article from the Cowboy State Free Press.
June 18, 2010 by bill.mccarthy
The Wyoming Board of Land Commissioners approved rules Thursday for commercial development of wind-generated electricity on state lands.
The Board of Land Commissioners is made up of the five officials elected statewide with the governor as chairman.
The rules establish requirements for the life cycle of a wind-energy project through decommissioning and reclamation of the state land. That includes a formula for installation fees.
When Wyoming became a state, the federal government designated state trust lands and minerals to be controlled by the state to generate money.
The Wyoming Office of State Lands and Investments manages about 3.6 million acres of state trust land.
The money generated through such things as grazing leases and mineral extraction is used primarily for public schools.
The agency and the board have a mandate to optimize income while preserving the trust asset.
For the most part, the minimum lease rate will be determined by fair-market value in comparison with similar properties and other factors, including the quality of the wind.
The rules set up processes that require communication and negotiation between the wind developers and those who lease the land for other purposes, such as grazing or oil-and-gas extraction.
The rules also attempt to establish procedures to resolve conflicts between lessees and provide for compensation when a lessee’s operation is damaged by another.
Wyoming has 23 wind lease agreements on about 47,000 acres of state land. Five operate as wind farms.
Source: Cowboy State Free Press
Posted by Haylie Shipp
