Torrington, WY December 7th, 2023 — The City of Torrington may have ended discussions on a solar energy generation project that would have been located at the Torrington Airport, but work will soon begin on the Goshen Solar Project.

Construction is set to begin on the project in January, and will be located about 10 miles southwest of Yoder on just over 1,200 acres of private land. Cowboy Energy, LLC and Greenvolt Power Renewables, LLC have partnered to construct the project, and will lease the ground from the landowners.

The Goshen Solar Project has garnered the opinions of many Goshen County residents, and a public meeting was hosted by the Goshen County Commissioners at the Rendezvous Center on Monday night.

Kath Broadcasting got the chance to sit down with the Chairman of the Goshen County Commissioners, Michael McNamee, who said that Monday’s meeting brought up some well-balanced opinions.

“The content of the meeting the other night was very well-balanced – arguments both for and against. I think right now, it is imperative that we be careful with what is going on with it – having never been entered into a situation like this – whether it be with renewable energy, fossil fuels, or any of the other new industries in Goshen County. I think that it’s imperative that people try to understand the process. One of the main themes I heard the other night was: “be open.” I think that being open to change that is inevitably going to come helps everybody get along. There was a lot of good that came from the meeting.”

Some residents in Goshen County have been questioning who has the final say on approval of this project. Commissioner McNamee said that, initially, the Commissioners were led to believe that they would have the final say, but found out that they did not have the authority after the Industrial Siting Council granted the permit.

“Initially, we were led to believe that the Commissioners would have the final say on whether this project was permitted or not. Then – with the process that involved the Industrial Siting Council – we found out that after the Industrial Siting Council had granted the permit, we as Commissioners don’t have any way of changing that. At this point, it would appear that it’s going back to the Zoning & Planning Committee to come up with rules and regulations. We want to make sure that they put the necessary things in the rules and regulations that protect Goshen County and its residents.”

While the project is set to move forward, Commissioner McNamee says that the Zoning & Planning Committee is continuing to work on a set of draft rules and regulations to put in place.

“They’re continuing to work on draft rules and regulations that would be in line with – or in some cases even more stringent – than those that we would see at the state level. That Zoning & Planning Committee deserves a huge pat on the back. They’ve put a lot of time and effort into that. It’s not easy to jump into something of this nature when you just don’t have much of a background with it. That process will continue to be ongoing, and people are encouraged to come to those meetings and offer opinions and recommendations to that commission as well.”

Goshen County can contact these members of the Zoning & Planning Committee:

• Michael Tietjen
• Vickie Zimmer
• Larry Curtis
• John Ellis
• Shawl Hall
• Doug Mercer

You can also find notices for upcoming meetings and further information on the Goshen County website: www.goshencounty.org.