Why would the purchase of a Wyoming Resource for consumption in Colorado be considered prudent?
• The WCI Project Corridor traverses an area in Wyoming where Class 6 and Class 7 wind resources (the highest class winds in the U.S.) exist in abundance. Higher class winds equate to superior capacity factors (see Project Study Area Map located under the MAPS tab) resulting in more net power produced annually. • The geographical diversity gained by combining Wyoming resources together with resources from Colorado creates a “smoothing” effect resulting in higher average and more consistent capacity factors thereby reducing wind integration costs (see Figure 1a). • Not only does Wyoming possess superior wind resources with higher capacity factors, Wyoming wind outperforms other sources during the time of day when demand for power is greatest and has the highest value (see Figure 1b).
