Goshen Solar is a 163 MW solar PV project being built in the town of Yoder, WY.
The project will use agrivoltaics which co-locates farming practices, such as growing crops and raising livestock, with photovoltaic (PV) solar panels. Which allows the land to be used productively for agricultural and energy production, making it a win-win for farmers and Goshen County residents alike.
Construction is planned to start at the beginning of 2025, and fully completed by the end of 2026.
The construction phase is expected to bring an investment of $155 million to the southwest region of Goshen County. Providing employment opportunities for:
- ~ 250 temporary workers (With 31% of these positions to be locally sourced)
- 8-10 permanent full-time positions
Along with job creation, the project is expected to infuse:
- ~ $8 million in sales and tax revenue
- ~ $35 million in total property tax
- ~ $6 million to Goshen County government
- ~ $26 million to education at Goshen County School District #1 and Eastern Wyoming College
- ~ $3 million to the local special districts
And a substantial boost to the county’s finances for essential services and infrastructure development.
What is Agrivoltaics?
Solar farms and agricultural production can not only coexist, but benefit from each other. Agrivoltaics (Also known as AgriPV” or “Dual-Use Solar”) is defined as farming practices, such as growing crops or raising livestock, that take place underneath solar panels.
Benefits of Dual-Use Solar
- Can decrease the evaporation of water from soil – Reducing irrigation needs
- Can improve crop yields and crop resilience in extreme weather conditions such as droughts
- Diversifies income through land lease payments as well as profits generated by crop and livestock
- Adding pollinators and native plant species can increase local biodiversity
Goshen Solar is being co-developed by Cowboy Energy and Greenvolt Power, read more about the developers below
About Greenvolt Power
Greenvolt Power focuses on developing utility-scale projects as part of the Greenvolt Group, a publicly traded company on the Lisbon stock exchange. Greenvolt is committed to advancing renewable energy through the team’s expertise in building solar, wind, and battery energy storage projects across the globe with a total pipeline of 7.7 GW.
Outside of Wyoming, Greenvolt Power has launched projects in several states including New Mexico, New York, and Virginia, and is always looking for landowners and local communities to partner with to help meet the U.S.’s energy needs.
About Cowboy Energy
Cowboy Energy, LLC’s goal is to develop utility-scale solar projects in the Midwest and the western US. Realizing that the early-stage development of power projects requires venture capital funding and development expertise, Cowboy focuses on the development stage. In addition to Goshen Solar, Cowboy is developing an 80 MW project in Kansas and a 120 MW project in Northern Nevada.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do solar panels produce energy on cloudy/rainy days?
Solar photovoltaic (PV) panels use both direct and indirect sunlight to generate power. Even though panels are most productive in direct sunlight, they still work when light is reflected or blocked by cloud coverage.
Rain storms can actually help maintain the efficiency of a solar farm by washing away any dirt or dust from the surface of the PV panels.
Although renewable energy output may be variable depending on weather conditions, all electricity supplies vary and there are no power plants that can run 24/7, renewable or not.
Now that battery energy storage systems (BESS) are quickly becoming cheaper and more widely available, the question is not the reliability of one energy source, but rather how we leverage multiple power sources to optimize the grid.
How do hail storms affect solar farms?
Historically, solar PV modules have survived the majority of hail events they’ve experienced. Yet there have been a handful of storms where the hail was more than 1¾ inches in diameter that have tested the durability of solar equipment.
Goshen Solar has already prepared for these conditions by mounting the treated and hardened panels on a system that allows them to be turned down towards the ground to protect the modules from harmful hail or extreme weather.
Does living close to solar farms cause health problems?
Similar to other devices, the electric fields created by a solar farm are very weak and are easily shielded by walls or other objects. Appliances like hairdryers and electric blankets also create electrical fields, and we’ve been using them for decades without concern.
Exposure to these low-level electromagnetic fields have been studied extensively and there is no evidence that they are harmful to human health.
Do you have a sustainability/decommissioning plan for the project?
For Goshen Solar, we’re exploring opportunities at recycling facilities in nearby states such as Arizona and California.
Although the recycling processes we currently have are not as efficient as they could be, the demand for responsible disposal opens a whole world of potential for job creation here in the States.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and their Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) released a PV End-of-Life Action Plan in 2022 that outlines a five-year approach to establish safe, responsible, and economic practices to the decommissioning of solar farms.
For panels reaching the end of their lifespan now, SETO is working on improving the current recycling processes to recover more material from the modules which we are eager to explore.
Local Partnerships
Contact
We look forward to hearing from you and working together to diversify Wyoming’s energy sources and towards a brighter future for Goshen County!
If you have any suggestions send us an email
