Several Wyoming legislators and attorneys said that while only a few landowners in the state have already sold their wind energy rights, interest in doing so is growing. And that, they said, could lead to trouble down the line.

“I had a couple clients who were talking about it, but I was able to talk them out of it,” said Wheatland attorney Stephen Sherard. “The wind rights are so intricately related to the surface, that it'd be a nightmare. ... Because both rights are on the surface, it's almost impossible to divorce the two.”

The current version of the bill wouldn't cancel any sales of wind rights that have already taken place, nor would it affect the primacy of mineral rights or the ability for a surface owner to transfer lease royalty payments elsewhere.

The draft legislation also sets time limits for wind energy producers to develop leased land. Under the bill, unless the developer and landowner agree otherwise, any wind energy lease would automatically be canceled if wind energy production ceases for 10 years or if no electricity is generated from a wind turbine within 20 years of the lease being signed.