Oct. 13, 2009 - At the request of the Wyoming Legislative Task Force on Wind Energy, the Wyoming Wind Collector and Transmission Task Force has completed a comprehensive report that provides a factual overview of transmission systems and challenges, wind supply and demand issues, and current transmission projects in Wyoming.

Submitted to the Legislative Task Force this week, the approximately 30-page report was developed by the Wyoming Wind Collector and Transmission Task Force to provide background that will assist the Legislative Task Force and the Legislature in moving forward on building the energy infrastructure the state needs.

The Wyoming Wind Collector and Transmission Task Force is spearheaded by the Wyoming Infrastructure Authority, the Western Area Power Administration, and four transmission developers including TransWest Express LLC.

The report outlines how Wyoming’s existing transmission lines are not large enough to export the thousands of megawatts of wind energy and natural-gas energy that Wyoming has the ability to develop. To maintain Wyoming’s leadership as an energy export state, and to secure the jobs and economic benefits that come with that leadership, economical pathways – overhead transmission lines – must be built that can deliver Wyoming-generated electricity to the Western states that are most likely to buy it.

The report also underscores the need for Wyoming to support the smart development of a coordinated “collector system” within the state. A coordinated collector system would gather wind-generated electricity from various small wind farms and deliver it to larger lines designed for export capacity, minimizing redundant lines and environmental impact.

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