As he released an updated energy policy, Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead (R) made clear Monday that the state remains committed to the advancement of carbon utilization technologies. “Wyoming is investing in fossil fuel research and encouraging others to get on board. The development of the Integrated Test Center is a prime example,” the document says. The new laboratory, under development at Basin Electric Power Cooperative’s Dry Fork Station power plant near Gillette, Wyo., will be tasked with investigating innovative uses for captured carbon.
Mead has been pushing for the development of the ITC for several years and secured $15 million in state funds through legislative approval in mid-2014. The Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association have pledged an additional $6 million to complete the necessary funding for the project.
While its construction date has not been set, the center has already secured its first research teams. NRG Energy and Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA) teamed up with nonprofit public competition organization XPRIZE to launch a $20 million carbon utilization innovation competition in late September. Finalists in the XPRIZE competition will move into the ITC to test their technology. The NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE, which is open to the public, consists of two competition tracks, one that will test developmental technologies on emissions from a coal-fired power plant and one that will use emissions from a natural gas-fired power plant.
After the XPRIZE researchers are done at the test center, it will be opened to other teams researching novel uses of captured CO2.
“As they are developed, successful technologies must be transferred from research to production scale. This initiative will create planning and policies for Wyoming to lead in developing commercial scale technologies – building an industry around carbon,” the new energy strategy says.
