Colorado State University’s Wind Farm Developer Preparing Permit for Green Power Project at Maxwell Ranch

Wind Holding LLC, the developer of the CSU Green Power Project at Maxwell Ranch, is preparing a permit application for the wind farm now that the Larimer County Commissioners have approved regulations governing large energy projects in the county.

The commissioners approved the so-called 1041 regulations on Oct. 20.

Continuing its role as a national leader in environmental sustainability, Colorado State announced plans in March 2007 to build a wind farm – called the CSU Green Power Project – on roughly 8,000 acres of the university’s 11,000-acre Maxwell Ranch near the Colorado-Wyoming border. The ranch was donated to the university by the Maxwell family in the 1970s for use by the university and for conducting research.

The Colorado State University Research Foundation, or CSURF, the private, non-profit advocacy arm of the university, contracted with Wind Holding LLC to develop the facility.

At Larimer County’s request and in good faith, CSU and Wind Holding agreed to delay submitting a formal proposal until the county had adopted the 1041 regulations, which has slowed development of the project.

In anticipation of filing a permit application, Colorado State University, Wind Holding and its development partners have hosted several public meetings on the proposed project. Meetings were held on Oct. 21 and Oct. 22 with immediate neighbors of the Maxwell Ranch and with members of the campus community, respectively. Additional public meetings are planned.

"The filing of the permit application will be the beginning of a long and thorough public process," said Bruce Morley, principal in Wind Holding. "The regulations ensure that members of the community will have a role in preparing a state-of-the-art, clean-energy solution for the region and the state."

For detailed information about the CSU Green Power Project, go to http://green.colostate.edu/.

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