Good news for eagles, hawks and other birds of the region.
Posted by Leslie Eastman
The last time we looked at the Trump administration’s reversal of wind farm approvals, the Interior Department, led by Secretary Doug Burgum, had just put a deep freeze on the continuing construction of five East Coast wind farms.
These pauses included several projects familiar to our readers:
- Vineyard Wind 1
- Revolution Wind
- CVOW – Commercial
- Sunrise Wind
- Empire Wind 1
However, those are not the only projects that have been pushed by green energy industries, eco-activists, and politically motivated bureaucrats. As I have noted in a previous post, Wyoming has been the site of several of these projects.
Now Wyoming’s top land officials have moved to rescind the state wind leases underpinning the Pronghorn H2 and Sidewinder projects, effectively putting both projects on a path toward cancellation.
The State Board of Land Commissioners took a series of 3-2 votes that will begin the process of canceling two controversial eastern Wyoming wind leases that the panel approved last year.
The decision came after extensive and emotional public comment Thursday opposing the leases — one related to the Pronghorn H2 Clean Energy Project in Converse County and one for the Sidewinder Clean Hydrogen Project in Niobrara County.
The State Board of Land Commissioners consists of Gov. Mark Gordon, Auditor Kristi Racines, Treasurer Curt Meier, Secretary of State Chuck Gray and Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder. Gray, Racines and Degenfelder voted in favor of rescinding the leases while Gordon and Meier opposed the motion.
Commissioners supporting the reversal — which still must play out procedurally — cited a December ruling by Eighth Judicial District Court Judge Scott Peasley that invalidated another state land lease for the Pronghorn project. That lease, on a state land parcel south of Glenrock, was unlawful, the judge concluded, because it didn’t expressly prescribe that electricity from the windfarm would be pumped into the grid — a violation of the state’s own rules.
State officials rescind wind leases for Pronghorn and Sidewinder https://t.co/oHqd6BB88M #wyoming #usa #windpower
— Power Plant World (@powerplantworld) February 11, 2026
Pronghorn H2 is a Focus Clean Energy project originally designed as a combined wind‑and‑solar facility powering still-in-development hydrogen production on about 46,000 acres in Converse County. However, after a December 2025 ruling by District Court Judge F. Scott Peasley that vacated the project’s wind lease from the state, citing the fact that wind farms on state leases must provide electricity back to the grid
The developers then nixed the hydrogen production portion and substantially reduced the acreage requirements, and then tried to sell the new plan as an effective means of energy generation in the winter-blasted state.
Focus Clean Energy announced Thursday that its Pronghorn H2 Project footprint has been reduced to about 30% of its original size, from more than 57,000 acres down to about 16,571 acres.
… The company also said it is eliminating the hydrogen production component that had been central to the project’s original vision, which means it no longer needs industrial-scale water supplies.
“Rapidly increasing energy demand means Wyoming needs additional electric generation, and the Pronghorn Project is repositioned to help meet that need,” said Paul Martin, lead developer for the Pronghorn Project. “We anticipate these significant changes will resolve many of the concerns expressed by the community.”
Martin told Cowboy State Daily the decision was driven by market conditions rather than politics.
Sidewinder is a related Focus Clean Energy wind project in neighboring Niobrara County, intended to work in tandem with Pronghorn and originally linked to clean hydrogen production. The developer plans to continue the legal battle.
Meanwhile, Focus Clean Energy, the Colorado-based Pronghorn H2 and Sidewinder developer, says it is confident Wyoming’s top court will reinstate its wind lease.
“We believe we’re very likely to have that overturned at the Supreme Court, and then that just reinstates the lease and we move forward,” the company’s President Paul Martin told WyoFile.
Wyoming’s land commissioners didn’t just hit pause on another overhyped green mega‑scheme; by moving to pause the Pronghorn H2 and Sidewinder leases after emotional local testimony, a damning court ruling, and a last‑minute downsizing sales pitch, they began the process of pulling the plug on projects the public never really wanted and that still couldn’t prove they could reliably or inexpensively power that chilly corner of the country.
Many of the locals will be thrilled by this development.
Good news for eagles, hawks and other birds of the region. https://t.co/697rWJ4zi9 pic.twitter.com/WwTmCB88RI
— Leslie Eastman ☥ (@Mutnodjmet) February 12, 2026
Meanwhile, in Milibandland…
The fight for Hope Moor is set to be repeated across the UK as the government aims to hit its renewable energy targets
…
Miliband, announced contracts for 157 new solar farms, 28 new onshore windfarms, eight offshore windfarms and three tidal projects. – Guardian
Miliband is insane.
This is what a Fanatic looks like.
Yep. He has just awarded contracts to 157 new solar farms, 28 new onshore wind farms and 8 offshore wind farms. One of the solar farms is the West Burton farm at 480 MW the largest solar project so far undertaken.
A cross party Committee of MPs recently warned of the risk of a “major food crisis” as up to 25% of the country’s farmland was being taken out of production to make way for solar farms.
The slave laborers in western China will need to row harder now.
Story tip.
Shore based electricity twice as expensive than marine diesel.
you would think they would have costed it before building it.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15563119/24million-taxpayer-funded-green-power-network-port-never-used-costly-run.html
I see where the U.S. is retiring a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.
It has eight small nuclear reactors on board. I wonder what they will do with those?
Meta or some other AI company could buy the ship intact and hook it up to feed the AI infrastructure.
The USS Nimitz has two large reactors, not eight small ones. It’s being retired after fifty years of service.
It was the USS Enterprise launched in 1961 which had eight small reactors. The Enterprise reactor configuration was an experiment to see how well nuclear power could work on an aircraft carrier.
Enterprise served for a long time. But its eight-reactor setup was a nightmare to maintain. Later nuclear carriers used a two-reactor setup which was much simpler in comparison to maintain and operate.
Thanks for the clarification. Me, and the reporter I listened to, got it wrong.
Sounds like these are old technology, to be retired. The future . . .
On February 15, 2026, the U.S. military successfully transported a small nuclear reactor, known as the Ward250, from California to Utah using C-17 aircraft. This operation is part of a broader initiative to advance nuclear energy technology for both military and civilian applications.
My heart stopped at the phrase “industrial scale water supply”. In Wyoming. They were planning to squander the most precious resource on some kind of impossible green dream.
At least, if you absolutely must bow down to the Green Goddess you could do it in conjunction with desalinization in a state close to the ocean or something. It still wouldn’t work, but you wouldn’t be flirting with a drought.
Someday historians will compare the green insanity to the witch trials as an example of mass delusion. Except the witch trials in Britain actually were in response to climate change, the Little Ice Age. Almost the same idea.
The witch trials in Wokeachusetts were due to religious fanatics. I’ve been comparing those trials with the modern Net Zero plan here- and ranting that comparison to many state officials, politicians, enviros, etc. They don’t appreciate that suggestion. 🙂
You are correct!
In Wokechusetts, Healey has caused the electricity rates to equal those in California ($0.35/kWh). I hope that she is proud of the lack of affordability that her policies have caused.
In a BS contest, I wonder who would win, Newsom or Healy???
I’ve been pointing people to this idea for about three years.
Witch trials in the early modern period – Wikipedia
So the governor of Wyoming voted in favor of the windmills, huh?
Follow the money.
Somalis could not compete with the level of corruption that exists in the “clean energy” space.
But they would give it their best shot! Like marriage, Somali corruption is all in the family!
No, the gov. is not financially corrupt. He is ideologically corrupt. He was all into the carbon “sequestering” nonsense a couple of years ago.
Story tip Famous coastal arch in Italy collapsed on Valentine’s Day. Of course they blame “climate emergency” and claim increase in storm activity, without any data presented. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/16/italy-lovers-arch-puglia-collapse-adriatic-sea-valentines-day
Just the natural progression of the ecosystem. Plate Tectonics drives the land up out of the sea while erosion allows the sea to reclaim a portion.
The only thing permanent in the world is, apparently, Mans Hubris.
Maybe the Italians can replace the natural rock bridge with a reinforced fiberplastic replica painted to look just like the original.
If allowed to progress, they should do so without any National Government funding and face hefty federal fines for any raptor take with double fines for Bald Eagles. Further they should be required to agree to a “Guaranteed” daily output into the Grid such that they need to supply their own reliable Back-up generation sources.
Sounds like a plan!!
Eagles, hawks and countless other flying creatures breath a profound sigh of relief! Now if we could just get rid of the already installed Bird-O-Matics they’d be ecstatic!
Incidentally, my eagle allies tell me they have found the proper punishment for wind energy execs; helicopter bungee roulette! Six jumps over one of these monstrosities, and if you don’t hit blade or tower, you’re free to go. I’ve already volunteered to be doorman; my extensive experience as a bouncer should finally prove useful!
🤣 😂 😅
This will save some copper too.
Washington State’s official electricity decarbonization plan includes building huge wind and solar farms in Montana and Wyoming and transmitting the RE-generated electricity through Idaho using a new dedicated power transmission corridor. It appears that neither Montana, Wyoming, nor Idaho is aware of this plan. Maybe they should be.
The Washington State Energy Strategy (PDF) is designed to provide a roadmap for meeting the state’s greenhouse gas emission limits. Enacted in 2020, the law commits Washington to limits of 45% below 1990 levels by 2030, 70% below 1990 levels by 2040 and 95% below 1990 levels with net zero emissions by 2050.
This is mostly wishful “shoulds” and other gobbledygook. For the cost of the work to produce this “plan” many useful things could have been done. WA has a “carbon” indulgence fee that raises the cost of everything in the State. The left coast is full of climate hysteria, similar to the witch trials.
But the corridor is on hold until the dems get the House, Senate, and Executive back, just like everything else about RE (Ruinous Energy). They’ll get another shot at destroying the economy, don’t doubt it
We in Montana and Wyoming won’t abide it.
Outstanding!
Where are the ubiquitous tribal lawsuits to claim this is on sacred lands or visible from them? Surely these sites are also visible from federal lands which was used to stop private projects and signage during Dem overreach agency eras.
More good news. We need to get government money and mandates out of the wind and solar business.
I thought that Wyoming, with its abundance of wide-open spaces, was supposed to be ideal for wind projects. Apparently it hasn’t proved to be ideal enough to supplant fossil fuels as also realized in many other locations that have tried to adopt renewables. So what else is new?
Wyoming has the most coal of any state. In northeast Wyoming you are literally walking on 40 feet of clean burning coal.
As a Wyomingite, that is good news!