Conflicting landowner positions on wind development is scrambling Wyoming politics–
If you look at a wind map of the U.S., the Laramie Mountains are perhaps the best wind area in the United States. That doesn’t mean wind gets to override property rights, however.
Landowner group tries to block wind development in Northern Laramie Range. By Dustin Bleizeffer. Casper Star-Tribune energy reporter.
Tilting at Windmills: The Strange Politics of Wyoming Wind Power. WyoFile. By Jonathan Thompson
Comments
Go Get ’em! These wind companies are latter-day robber barons of the public lands and private lands too – as one of these horrid giant wind farms in your neighborhood can drive you out of your mind through noise, sleep interference, etc.
Wind Thugs.
If you read this abbreviated story in the Casper Star ( a very oil industry friendly newspaper), or the much more comprehensive story at High Country News by Jonathan Thompson ( Dec. 21-09 lead story ; http://www.hcn.org ) titled ” Wind Resistance” ; also at http://www.wyofile.com under the title ” Tilting at windmills” , you will begin to get an inkling of what’s really at work here.
The leader of the rebellion against installing wind turbines in the Laramie Range is an old time robber baron who wears three hats. Diemer True is an oil industry mogul in Wyoming, the scion of the True family oil estates, a close personal friend of Dick Cheney. He was formerly the head of the Wyoming Republican Party and is at bedrock in that state’s GOP hegemony. He’s also a ‘rancher’ in the Laramie Range.
What you have to realize about Diemer True is as a Republican honcho and an oil industry tycoon , he and his ilk have long tried to push wildcat drilling rigs into most of Wyoming’s mountain ranges. Diemer believes no ground should be offlimits to drilling , except of course his own private property. For three decades some f us have fought to keep driling rigs out of the wilderness and unsuitable mountain multiple use lands, and we were fighting against the Diemer Trues of Wyoming and the blue chip energy corporations. Both sides won adn lsot those fights on a case by case basis. It mst’ve really hurt Diemer when his old team roping buddy the late Sen. Craig Thomas became an advocate for closing off the namesake Wyoming Range to drilling, the biggest fight the conservation community won with r to drilling.
So the bottom line is it is utterly HYPOCRITICAL for Diemer True at al to be fighting to keep wind turbines out of ” his ” mountains when he spent most of his life trying to push drilling rigs and oil fields into “our” mountains…the public’s open lands at elevation.
Utterly hypocritical.
My hunch is the hydrocarbon energy industry that pretty much owns and operates Wyoming state government will use every trick at their disposal to dampen wind energy development in Wyoming. Above or below boards. They hydrocarbon hegemony wants to extract every last dollar they can get their greay hands on before Cap and Trade or Carbon Tax become the norm , and alternative (non-carbon) energy begins its reign.
I would expect no less of Diemer True and his cabal.