Initial Publication Date: May 6, 2009

Field Trip: Seven Mile Hill Wind Farm and Hanna Coal Mine

wind farm scenic


See a photo gallery from this field trip

Itinerary

Energy field trip map
Click to view a Google Map of the trip route
7:00 - 8:00 Breakfast at the Hilton Garden Inn and wind energy presentation by Mark Tallman, PacifiCorp

8:30 - Depart via bus for Seven Mile Hill wind farm, located near Medicine Bow, WY. Driving time 1 to 1.5 hours.

10:00 to 12:00 - Tour of wind farm

12:00 to 1:00 - Lunch (sandwiches will be provided)

1:00 to 2:00 - Drive to Elk Mountain coal mine. Driving time 1 hour.

2:00 to 4:00 - Tour of coal mine and reclaimed areas

4:00 to 5:00 - Drive back to Laramie. Driving time 1 hour.

There will not be an organized group dinner.

Note - the weather is likely to be variable throughout the day. Prudent things to bring along include a wind/rain proof jacket, an insulating layer, hat, sunscreen and a large water bottle.

Supplemental Information


Field Trip stops (KMZ File 2.3MB May6 09) from Google Earth. File provided by Glenn Richard.
Map of field trip route from Google Maps

Seven Mile Hill wind farm operated by PacifiCorp

  • Seven Mile Hill, a 99-megawatt project in Carbon County, Wyoming, began operations in December 2008. It will serve the needs of 33,726 average residential customers. Project has 66, 1.5-megawatt General Electric turbines.
  • Seven Mile Hill II, a 19.5-megawatt project adjacent to the Seven Mile Hill I project, began operations in December 2008. It will serve the needs of 6,321 average residential customers. Project has 13, 1.5-megawatt General Electric turbines.

Article about Seven Mile Hill wind farm
Summary of PacifiCorp renewable energy projects, including the Seven Mile Hill wind farms
List of renewable energy projects in the Northwestern Region

Elk Mountain coal mine operated by Arch Coal

In 2008, Arch sold more than 20.6 million tons of coal from its operations in their Western Bituminous Region, which includes Colorado, Utah, and southern Wyoming. The company's Western Bituminous operations include four large underground mines and one surface mine with a total of 455 million tons of proven and probable reserves.

Handout about coal mines near Hanna (Acrobat (PDF) 1.4MB Jun15 09), showing locations of mines and reclaimed areas
Wyoming coal statistics (Acrobat (PDF) 277kB Jun15 09), compiled by Jimm Myers
Images of a large coal mine in the Powder River Basin (Acrobat (PDF) 277kB Jun15 09)