Revived Haystack solar project proponents learn there’s going to be a battle

CASPER — The company behind a 2,000-acre solar project rejected by Natrona County commissioners a year ago is back for another round. Enfinity Global, the parent company of EG Haystack Solar LLC, sent letters to landowners within two miles of its proposed site and invited them to an informational meeting at the Fort Caspar Museum on Monday evening.

Company representatives learned in the 2½-hour meeting that the opposition that led to its defeat at the county board meeting on Feb. 4, 2025, has not waned. “I just want you to know there’s going to be a battle,” Gary Williams, a resident of the tiny Natrona community, told Haystack Solar spokesman Dale Harris before his presentation. “We’re not going to put up with it.”

The initial project involved 2,010 acres of private ranch land, but the revised project adds 160 acres to avoid conflict with a neighboring rancher whose cattle grazing would have been affected by the former site plan. Just like the last proposal voted down 3-2 by county commissioners, the company is proposing a 199-megawatt generating station with battery storage capable of holding 100 megawatts of power.

Harris said the company waited for a “cooling off” period of a year before bringing the project back and is starting with local residents to hear their concerns. Project leaders want to secure a conditional use permit from Natrona County before proceeding to the state’s industrial siting process. “If this doesn’t get approved then we won’t go through the process,” said partner Ethan Jahnke.

Community members raised concerns about potential fire hazards, groundwater contamination, property values and visual impacts. Ranchers Mark Rosenbaum and Bill Larsen worried about fire risk from panels and batteries, as well as selenium from soil being stirred up and entering their cattle’s primary water source. “I know they claim those batteries are safe,” Rosenbaum said. “Anyone who’s been around a battery knows you can blow one up.”

Other residents said if a fire developed, response time would be too long and residents along Natrona Road south of the plant could be trapped—the road is their only way in and out. “We’re toast and you don’t care,” a woman said.

Harris said the company would build a new bridge across Casper Creek—an issue for residents during floods—and pay for a turning lane off U.S. 20/26. Water would be purchased and hauled to the site, he said. The company is also working with Wyoming Game and Fish to address wildlife migration corridors.

Shawn Hoy, who bought property on Pine Mountain above the proposed site six months ago, said he knew nothing about the project. “I’m off grid,” he said. “What do I gain from it.”

County Commissioner Dave North, who voted against approval last year and attended Monday’s meeting, said he had no idea the project was being revived. “They haven’t brought anything to the county yet,” he said.

Harris estimated the conditional use permit application would go before county planning and zoning within a couple of months. The project timeline calls for construction to begin in late 2027 and be completed by mid-2029, with electricity going into the national grid rather than directly benefiting local residents.