Albany County extends Rail Tie wind project permit five years

Albany County commissioners kept the Rail Tie wind project alive Tuesday, approving a five-year permit extension that gives developers more time to advance one of southern Wyoming’s most contested energy proposals. The 2-1 vote came as the project neared a July 16, 2026 permit deadline and after years of hearings, court fights and land-board approvals.

The extension matters because Rail Tie is not a new idea on the county’s agenda. The project was first approved by Albany County in July 2021 as a Wind Energy Conversion System permit for up to 120 turbines, including 94 on private land and 26 on State of Wyoming land, with towers reaching about 590.55 feet. It is planned for roughly 26,000 acres near Tie Siding, about 15 miles south of Laramie.

The project’s scale has kept it at the center of Albany County’s wind debate. Supporters have argued that a 504-megawatt facility would bring major tax revenue and school-trust income, and earlier reporting said the state-land portion could generate about $20 million for school districts over the project’s 35-year lifespan. Opponents have focused on viewsheds, wildlife, land values and the rural landscape near the Ames Monument.

The lone dissenting commissioner described Tuesday’s action as the company “fishing to keep the project alive,” a blunt assessment of how much of the project remains tied to paper approvals rather than steel in the ground. That criticism reflects the central question now facing county residents: whether commissioners renewed a viable project, or simply preserved a long-delayed proposal that still has not broken construction ground.

Rail Tie has cleared major hurdles before. The State Board of Land Commissioners approved the state-land lease in January 2021 after previously declining to extend it in November 2020. Albany County then approved the WECS permit on July 13, 2021. In May 2023, the Wyoming Supreme Court ruled in favor of the project, leaving developers with the core approvals they needed.

Even so, the fight has continued in court and in public. Opponents filed a federal lawsuit on Dec. 23, 2024, alleging the Western Area Power Administration failed to adequately weigh impacts on wildlife, wetlands, cultural resources and the Ames Monument. That suit seeks to stop a 149-turbine plan spanning 26,000 acres.

County records show the project has remained active behind the scenes. Albany County has processed a road-use agreement with ConnectGen Albany County LLC for construction traffic and a letter of credit from Commerxbank not to exceed $1,075,000 for the project. ConnectGen originally developed Rail Tie, and Repsol acquired ConnectGen in March 2024.

The new extension gives Rail Tie another window to move toward the end-of-2026 operating target the developer has cited. For Albany County, it also extends the political and legal clock on a project that has already shaped land-use policy, county paperwork and the future of southern Albany County for years.