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March 15 is the deadline for responses to a Request for Proposals (RFP) for major renewable energy capacity in the Rocky Mountain state of Wyoming. The state energy office expects to fund between one and six projects up to a maximum of $2 million, says energy programme administrator Dale Hoffman.

There is no size restriction other than the state money available on the projects solicited, says Hoffman. However, it is unlikely that all the money will go to wind projects. Wind is one of six technologies specifically suggested in the RFP, along with photovoltaics, ground source heat pumps and others.

Wyoming has huge wind potential, says Hoffman. "It's immense -- it's probably as large as any state in the union except Montana." The state has a population of less than 500,000, although with 94 million square miles of land there would be few siting problems, says Hoffman.

Already proposed in Wyoming in Carbon County is a 50 to 75 MW wind power station of Kenetech 33M-VS turbines by PacifiCorp, one of two projects selected for final negotiations for 50 MW of new capacity for Bonneville Power Administration (“uåX˜äŠÊ˜·³Ç, April 1993). PacifiCorp has said it might expand the project to 200 average megawatts, if it proves cost-effective.

And just a few weeks ago, Kenetech “uåX˜äŠÊ˜·³Ç announced it might install a total of 500 MW in the rocky gap in the Continental Divide (“uåX˜äŠÊ˜·³Ç, February 1994). PacifiCorp's 75 MW would be the first phase of the mammoth project, revealed in a scoping statement in the Federal Register on January 10.