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Cheyenne, Wyoming Community News Stream.
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The City of Cheyenne is fielding requests for potential energy leases at the Belvoir Ranch. One company interested in leasing a portion of the ranch could introduce a 1,200-plus-acre solar farm to the property, netting the city about $500,000 a year.
The Belvoir Ranch is an 18,800-acre property west of town that has slowly been built for recreation, energy development, water storage and more. It fits loosely between the Union Pacific Railroad and Interstate 80, with a portion of the area known as The Big Hole stretching down as far as the Colorado Border.
Since the city began planning out the ranch’s future in earnest in 2008, a large chunk of the property’s area has been dedicated to wind energy. In June, the southwestern corner of the ranch opened up to the public with a large network of trails for hiking and biking.
However, there are still large areas of the ranch that remain undeveloped. In June, the Cheyenne City Council authorized Mayor Patrick Collins to open up the ranch to environmental studying with the hope that extra data on the land could attract even more development and rake in more revenue for the city.
In a work session Wednesday, where city councilors met to discuss their progress on a series of 2026 goals they set for themselves in January, Councilor Tom Segrave said one potential lessee was looking to install thousands of acres of solar panels that would net the city around $500,000 per year.
“They’re looking at three different phases,” Segrave said. “Phase one would be about 1,200 acres, I believe. It would bring substantial money to the city. We haven’t gotten the final number, but it would be somewhere around $500,000 a year.”
No deal has been agreed upon, but the city would most likely lease the part of the property the developer is interested in for 25 years. The specific area is reportedly a corner of the ranch nobody can see from the public section.
Segrave added that the developers indicated that they would like to get onto the property as early as possible. The only potential hang-up is the quality of the soil.
“Their number-one concern was the soil because it’s so rocky,” Segrave said. Industrial solar panels are secured to the ground with anchors that are pounded a few feet into the earth. Soil thick with large rocks makes bolting panels down more complicated and expensive.
Councilors said that more suitors have come forward with smaller-scale proposals, including a battery storage facility and a natural gas–fired power plant, which already has some supporting infrastructure in place from previous energy projects.
All of these ideas are still in their preliminary phases, however, and the city isn’t currently prepared to approve any new leases on the ranch.
Community Reporter More by Garrett Grochowski
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