Moratorium-solar and wind projects.
SF0183 would impose a statewide moratorium on new and expanded wind and solar energy facility projects in Wyoming. Beginning on the bill’s effective date, no person could initiate or expand a wind or solar energy facility project in the state, with the prohibition set to end June 30, 2030. The bill also states that the moratorium would be repealed on that date unless the legislature takes further action. It excludes net metering systems from the definitions of wind and solar energy facilities, so small customer-sited systems used for net metering would not be covered by the ban.
The bill also makes a series of conforming amendments to existing statutes governing wind and solar development, county permitting, industrial facility siting, wind energy rights, and related regulatory provisions. Those amendments appear designed to align existing law with the moratorium by limiting permitting, expansion, and related approvals for covered projects, while preserving certain preexisting rights and projects already in the permitting pipeline. The bill includes language stating that projects that have already begun the local or state permitting process before the effective date are not prohibited.
In practical terms, the bill would significantly restrict the development of utility-scale wind and solar projects in Wyoming for the duration of the moratorium. It would affect project developers, landowners, counties, state permitting bodies, and potentially associated transmission and collector-system infrastructure tied to commercial wind and solar generation. Because the bill is framed as a temporary moratorium rather than a permanent ban, it would pause new development rather than permanently rewrite the state’s renewable-energy framework, though the conforming amendments would still alter how existing statutes operate during the moratorium period.
The general sentiment reflected in the voting history suggests the bill faced resistance in committee. The Senate Corporations Committee vote on a do-pass motion failed 2-3, indicating insufficient support to advance the bill at that stage. No committee transcript was provided, so there is no recorded debate to show detailed arguments, but the failed vote suggests at least a majority of committee members were not persuaded to move the moratorium forward.
The main point of contention is likely the policy choice to halt wind and solar project development statewide, which would be viewed differently by supporters concerned about land use, public health and safety, or infrastructure impacts, and by opponents concerned about investment certainty, energy development, property rights, and the state’s renewable-energy sector. The bill’s carve-out for projects already in the permitting process and for net metering systems suggests an attempt to narrow the scope of the moratorium, but the core restriction on new and expanded utility-scale projects remains the central issue.
SF0183 would create a new Wyoming statute prohibiting the initiation or expansion of wind and solar energy facility projects statewide through June 30, 2030, and would amend multiple existing provisions to conform to that moratorium. The bill would affect state and local permitting, county approval processes, industrial siting rules, wind energy rights, and related condemnation and infrastructure provisions, while excluding net metering systems and preserving projects already underway in the permitting process.
The available voting history indicates the bill did not have enough support to advance in the Senate Corporations Committee, where a do-pass motion failed 2-3. With no committee transcript available, the record shows only that the proposal was controversial and met opposition sufficient to block committee passage. The lack of recorded debate prevents a more detailed read on individual arguments, but the failed vote suggests skepticism among a majority of committee members about imposing a statewide moratorium on wind and solar development.
The central controversy is whether Wyoming should temporarily halt new and expanded wind and solar projects. Supporters would likely argue the moratorium is needed to address public health and safety, land-use concerns, or infrastructure and siting impacts, while opponents would likely view it as an unnecessary restriction on private investment, energy development, and property rights. Additional friction may arise from the bill’s effects on county permitting, condemnation authority, and transmission-related collector systems, even though the bill attempts to exempt net metering and grandfather projects already in the permitting pipeline.