<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0bEi8z_1GqacdJV00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0bEi8z_1GqacdJV00" width="1280" height="719" ><figcaption>Courtesy of GPA.</figcaption></figure>GILLETTE, Wyo. — Campbell County commissioners heard three proposals for the county-owned Spaeth Ranch during their meeting Wednesday morning, with each developer offering a different plan for the more than 5,200-acre property. The proposals came from CSW Development LLC and JLL; Peabody; and Range Sustained Ranch. Their plans included a large data center, an energy and technology campus and a working cattle ranch with smaller technology projects, respectively. Before the presentations, commissioners Bob Jordan, Jim Ford, Scott Clem and Jerry Means shared what they learned during a late-October trip to Idaho National Laboratory and Eastern Idaho Community College in Idaho Falls. The commissioners said they were impressed by Eastern Idaho Community College’s growth from about 1,000 students in 2017 to more than 5,000 today. The college has grown without adding sports teams or student dorms. Instead, it focuses on training students for jobs through programs in welding, electrical work, nuclear safety, surgical technology and law enforcement. The commissioners said the college’s approach could offer ideas for workforce development in Campbell County as the area looks at future industrial growth. They also discussed Wyoming’s Industrial Siting Act and the importance of keeping local control over large development projects. Clem said Campbell County needs to stay in the driver’s seat when negotiating the benefits and impacts of major projects, including data centers and other industrial developments. He said the county should not have to hand that control over to state officials in Cheyenne. Means said companies moving into the area should pay for the impacts of their projects, following the example of coal and oil companies in the Powder River Basin. He said those costs should not fall on local taxpayers. During the afternoon session, Powder River Energy Corp. gave commissioners an overview of the electric system and what it would take to support development at Spaeth Ranch. CEO Brian Mills and Vice President of Strategic Development Quentin Rogers said the member-owned cooperative serves about 27,000 meters across 16,000 square miles. PRECorp buys its wholesale power from Basin Electric Power Cooperative. Under Basin Electric’s large-load policy, projects requiring 25 megawatts or more must pay all costs for engineering studies, substation equipment and necessary system upgrades upfront. PRECorp currently handles about 300 megawatts of electricity. Its highest recorded demand was 450 megawatts during the coalbed methane boom. The proposed 300-megawatt development at Spaeth Ranch would double the cooperative’s current delivery load. Two 230-kilovolt transmission lines already cross the ranch, which could make it easier to connect to the regional power system. However, PRECorp said it would need several months of engineering studies to determine whether enough electricity could be generated to support the project. <h2>CSW’s proposal</h2>CSW Development LLC and JLL presented plans for an energy and technology campus. The proposal includes a data center campus starting on 1,000 acres, 570 acres for energy generation and storage and 790 acres for advanced manufacturing and logistics. It also includes 30 acres for a park and emergency services facilities, along with a 1,000-acre greenway buffer. The developers are seeking 300 megawatts of electricity through PRECorp. They also plan to work with Black Hills Energy to extend natural gas service to the property. The initial plan calls for an 11-mile connection to an existing 30-inch pipeline by 2028, followed by another 15-mile extension in 2029. The natural gas would help support power generation on the property. CSW also voiced plans to use a closed-loop dry cooling system that would use domestic drinking water instead of the large amounts of water needed for traditional evaporative cooling systems. The company estimated construction costs of $9.3 million to $15 million per megawatt. A 300-megawatt project could cost between $2.8 billion and $4.5 billion. The full project could exceed $6 billion, not including server equipment. CSW projected the project could create 800–1,500 construction jobs and 100–235 permanent jobs. During questions from the public, nearby Fox Park residents and rural landowners raised concerns about noise from cooling fans and heat coming from the data centers. CSW representatives said the data centers would be built closer to the center of the property, with several thousand feet between the buildings and nearby properties. The company said it would follow a 55-decibel noise limit and conduct independent noise studies before construction. <h2>Peabody’s proposal</h2>Peabody, represented by Patrick Forkin, Bryce West and Phil Horstman, offered $13 million in cash for the ranch. The offer includes $300,000 in earnest money and a 150-day due diligence period. The company’s plan centers on building a large coal-fired power plant near its North Antelope Rochelle Mine, south of Spaeth Ranch. Peabody is considering a 2- to 4-gigawatt or larger power plant that would use coal from its 1.2 billion tons of permitted reserves to provide a steady supply of electricity. The company said the power could be delivered using coal priced at $1 per million British thermal units. Peabody said the project could create six times the local economic impact of shipping raw coal by rail. The company also wants to explore ways to recover rare earth elements and other valuable materials, including germanium, from coal. At Spaeth Ranch, Peabody said it plans to build an energy and technology park. The company would increase power availability by 75 megawatts each quarter until it reaches an initial 300-megawatt data center campus. Construction could begin as early as late 2027. The proposal also includes 960 permanent homes, 400 temporary housing units for construction workers, 775 acres of parks and open space, recreational trails and a fishing pond. Peabody representatives said the company would pay for roads and infrastructure inside the property without asking the county for funding. They also said they would work with local schools, emergency services and water management agencies. <h2>Range Sustained Ranch’s proposal</h2>The third proposal came from Range Sustained Ranch, presented by founder Tyler Wurts. Wurts offered $10.5 million for the property, subject to financing and due diligence. His plan focuses on keeping the ranch in operation while adding smaller technology and energy projects. The proposal includes a Wagyu-Angus bull program and a custom calving facility in partnership with current leaseholder Doug. The company also plans to use a program called CattleProof to track cattle from birth through processing using blockchain technology. The plan includes small Bitcoin mining units powered by solar panels and batteries. The units would be connected to stock tanks, using the heat they produce to help keep water from freezing during the winter. They also could adjust their electricity use based on demand. Wurts also proposed creating a builder’s guild where local inventors, mechanics and welders could work on projects. The plan includes greenhouse containers that would use heat from computer equipment to grow vegetables for local food production. The company plans to organize as a decentralized autonomous organization and decentralized unincorporated nonprofit association under Wyoming’s digital asset laws. Wurts said the structure would allow the ranch to be tokenized, giving community members and local inventors a chance to earn equity in the project. </div></body>

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GILLETTE, Wyo. — Campbell County commissioners heard three proposals for the county-owned Spaeth Ranch during their meeting Wednesday morning, with each developer offering a different plan for the more than 5,200-acre property. The proposals came from CSW Development LLC and JLL; Peabody; and Range Sustained Ranch. Their plans included...

Three developers present proposals for Campbell County’s Spaeth Ranch

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GILLETTE, Wyo. — Campbell County commissioners heard three proposals for the county-owned Spaeth Ranch during their meeting Wednesday morning, with each de

Three developers present proposals for Campbell County’s Spaeth Ranch

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