Pioneering the Future of Energy Technology in Wyoming

In the spirit of innovation Energy Fairness welcomes the following op-ed from the Executive Director of the Wyoming Infrastructure Authority – Jason Begger.  In this piece, Begger discusses the competitive efforts underway in this Rocky Mountain West state to turn carbon emissions from a liability into an asset.  

Last May, a pioneering private-public partnership built outside of Gillette, Wyoming was officially completed. Located in the heart of coal country, this research and testing facility aims to take carbon emissions – long-billed as a liability – and turn it into an asset. 

The Wyoming Integrated Test Center (ITC) is a pioneering research test facility located on the site of Basin Electric Power Cooperative’s Dry Fork Station. The ITC provides space for researchers to test Carbon Capture, Utilization and Sequestration (CCUS} technologies using actual coal-based flue gas. The ITC is one of only a handful of facilities around the world that enables researchers to test their technologies at an operating power plant.

At the ITC, researchers are working to perfect technologies that remove CO2 from exhaust created from burning coal and turn it into valuable products. The ITC features seven test bays designed to accommodate projects of varying sizes and power needs. The test bays are simple gravel pads, providing flexible space for modular test equipment to be brought in, attached to the flue gas delivery system and run to gather data. Some of the ITC’s first tenants are working to develop, test and perfect technologies that will capture CO2 and potentially turn it into products like methanol, plastics and building materials.

The ITC is funded by $15 million from the State of Wyoming, $5 million from Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association and $1 million from the National Rural Electric Cooperatives Association. Basin Electric Power Cooperative provided the host site and various technical services. 

The Integrated Test Center is drawing tenants from around the world to test at this state-of-the-art facility. Five finalists competing for the NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE will be testing their technologies at the ITC. The $20 million Carbon XPRIZE is a global competition to develop breakthrough technologies that will convert CO2 emissions from power plants and industrial facilities into valuable products like building materials, alternative fuels, and other items that we use every day. Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. (KHI) will also test their solid sorbent capture technology at the ITC.

For more information on the Wyoming ITC, visit http://www.wyomingitc.org.