Build begins on Wyoming-to-California power line amid growing wind power concern

By MEAD GRUVER
Associated Press

RAWLINS, Wyo. (AP) — Wyoming and federal officials formally kicked off construction Tuesday of a massive transmission line project to export wind power from Wyoming to southern California. The $3 billion TransWest Express project and the $5 billion Chokecherry and Sierra Madre wind farm have been in the works for over 15 years. Once built, the wind farm will feed electricity into the transmission system. The giant wind project is being built in Wyoming, which has seen a massive build-out of wind power — and new farms are meeting more resistance from locals worried about harm to their views and wildlife. Whether opposition grows could depend on how future development occurs.