Construction is set to begin April 27 on the Wyoming Integrated Test Center, kicking off with a ceremony led by Gov. Matt Mead (R). “Wyoming leads the nation in coal production and the ITC allows us to show the same leadership in research. We are investing in the future of coal – so the industry can continue to serve Wyoming and the Nation for generations to come,” Mead said in a prepared statement.
The test center, located at Basin Electric Power Cooperative’s Dry Fork Station near the city of Gillette, will host research into carbon utilization. Mead has been pushing for 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.
The ITC is expected to be completed in summer 2017 and has already secured its first research teams, finalists in an ongoing carbon utilization XPRIZE competition. “ITC gives global innovators competing in the NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE a world-class space to test potentially revolutionary technologies that could change how we tackle carbon emissions and develop energy technology long into the future,” said Paul Bunje, senior scientist and principal of XPRIZE’s Energy & Environment team.
