CASPER, Wyo. – Officials approved Wyoming’s first utility-scale solar energy farm on Tuesday, introducing another renewable power source to the proudly-fossil-fuel state’s energy mix. 

The Bureau of Land Management issued an environmental finding of no significant impact for the project, though the first solar farm has instigated a familiar debate in Wyoming: How to balance energy and the environment. 

Sweetwater Solar will be constructed on about 700 acres of mostly federal land, 11 miles outside of Green River in southwest Wyoming. The solar farm will sell its electricity to the state’s largest utility, PacifiCorp’s Rocky Mountain Power, under a 20-year agreement. 

Between 150 and 300 short-term jobs could be generated by the project over its six-month construction period. Construction is also estimated to bring in more than $420,000 for Sweetwater County and $616,500 for the state. 

Once up and running the solar farm will create enough electricity to potentially power 17,000 homes, according to the BLM’s analysis. 

Green River’s consistent sunshine and cool nights made it ideal for a solar project, but some in the area have concerns about the impact of the industry coming to Wyoming.

Michele Irwin, a rancher in the area and a conservation advocate in the state, said the approval of the Sweetwater project seemed a done deal before the public had really considered it. In contrast to statewide discussions about wind development or fossil fuel extraction, a conversation about solar simply hasn’t happened yet, she said. 

“I’m afraid there are a lot of folks jumping on the bandwagon, that are all just fixated on ‘Solar is good and diversifying our energy portfolio. Let’s just go with it,’” she said. “Should we go about it in a way that matters? Because we may be able to be a good state for solar, but there is no other state that has our wildlife migration.” 

Groups including the Powder River Basin Resource Council, which often comment on energy projects in the state, do not have a position on utility-scale solar development. Their members support smaller-scale solar generation like that used by businesses, homeowners and ranchers, said Hesid Brandow, an organizer with the group. 

But large solar projects that could come to the state carry some of the same concerns as other energy developments — long-term impacts to wildlife and habitat. 

The Powder River Basin Resource Council submitted some of its concerns on the Sweetwater Solar project regarding wildlife impacts and approved of some of the stipulations added to the plan to protect those resources, Brandow said. 

Construction and activity will be stalled from November to April, in consideration of pronghorn wintering in the area, and prohibited between March and June to protect sage grouse. After public comment, a chunk of the project area was shaved off to accommodate wildlife migration.

Sweetwater County commissioners were not available for comment Tuesday, but public comment from the county included support for a broad environmental study in anticipation of further projects in the area. 

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department noted the loss of sage grouse habitat in its public comments on the draft environmental analysis and disagreed with the BLM’s assessment that the losses were minor. 

Sweetwater Solar is a subsidiary of Hanwha, the largest international manufacturer of solar modules. The company has solar projects in a number of countries including Mexico, Japan and Korea. It also operates in states like Hawaii and California. The company’s U.S. headquarters are located in California. 

Construction on the farm is set to begin in early July, with a completion goal of February 2019.