Colorado State University Extends Developer Deadline on Maxwell Ranch Project to Oct. 31

The developer selected by the Colorado State University Research Foundation to build a wind farm on the Maxwell Ranch now has until Oct. 31 to cure problems with its lease agreement with the university.

On Friday, Sept. 25, the CSURF Board of Trustees extended the deadline for Wind Holding LLC to fix issues that could result in default on the lease. The board voted to grant the extension to “cure all defaults and grant an assignment of the lease to a new project developer.”

“We’re aware that Wind Holding, as the lease holder, is making progress with a new developer. We are providing them this additional 30 days to finalize that deal, which would allow for a transfer of the lease,” said Bill Farland, senior vice president for Research and Engagement at Colorado State. “Colorado State is still planning to build a wind project on the Maxwell Ranch. As we’ve said before to county officials, the campus community and nearby residents, we want to ensure we’re building a project at an appropriate time and in a way that makes sense.”

In July, the CSURF board agreed to send an official notice of default to Wind Holding, which was hired to build a wind farm on the CSURF-owned Maxwell Ranch. The board voted to issue the notice, which gave Wind Holding 60 days to remedy the conditions of default and comply with the provisions of its CSURF contract to build a wind farm.

The 60-day period began July 25 — when Wind Holding received the notice via certified mail – and ended at midnight on Sept. 25.

“The board is very committed to moving forward with another developer to ensure the university’s research and alternative energy goals are met,” said Kathleen Henry, president and CEO of CSURF.

Colorado State plans 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 CSURF by the Maxwell family in the 1970s for use by the university and for conducting research. CSURF is a private, non-profit organization that handles real estate transactions on behalf of the university.

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