Wyoming Integrated Test Center Unveils Project Logo & Website
ITC Launches Digital Tools to Help Public Track Updates on Innovative State Project
Cheyenne, Wyoming – Aiming to ensure public access to timely information on the Wyoming Integrated Test Center (ITC), the project launched a digital campaign this week complete with website, Facebook and Twitter.
“I am excited to see what advancements in carbon dioxide use and opportunities in petrochemicals come from the great minds at the Integrated Test Center,” said Governor Matt Mead. “Wyoming leads the nation in coal production and the ITC allows us to show the same leadership in research. This facility is an investment in the future of coal – a future that will serve Wyoming and the Nation for generations to come.”
The ITC is a public-private partnership designed to foster the next generation of energy technology. The ITC will provide space for researchers to test Carbon Capture, Utilization and Sequestration (CCUS) technologies using actual coal based flue gas from Basin Electric Power Cooperative’s Dry Fork Station near Gillette
The project recently launched a website, Facebook page and Twitter account to increase public awareness and provide timely updates on construction progress. Individuals and members of the press can sign up for email updates, track construction progress and learn more about the research projects at the facility via these digital tools, which can be accessed at:
Website: www.wyomingitc.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/WyomingITC
Twitter: twitter.com/WyomingITC
“When it comes to advancing clean energy technology, Wyoming is putting its money where its mouth is,” said Executive Director of the Wyoming Infrastructure Authority, which is managing the pre-commissioning phase of the project, Jason Begger. “Research at the facility will help ensure the viability of the coal industry, which supports jobs, local and state economies and keeps electricity prices low for millions of people around the globe.”
In 2014, with the support and encouragement of Governor Mead, the Wyoming State Legislature allocated $15 million in funding for the design, construction and operation of an integrated test center to study the capture, sequestration and management of carbon emissions from a Wyoming coal fired power plant. An additional $5 million commitment from private industry was required under the appropriation, which has since been secured from the Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association in addition to $1 million pledged from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. Basin Electric is providing the host site as well as many additional in-kind contributions including engineering and construction management services.
The ITC is slated to be one of a handful of such facilities around the world and only the second one in the United States. While many carbon capture technologies are being developed and studied in laboratory settings, the ITC will be one of the few research and testing facilities at an operating coal-fired powered plant. The ITC will allow for real world testing at an active power plant and alleviates typical concerns over being able to transfer technology from a lab to a plant.
Pre-construction engineering and design work started in 2015. This month, when the Dry Fork Station goes into routine maintenance mode, a large steel damper will be installed into the flue system that will help direct gas to researchers at the test center. Additional engineering is ongoing with site preparation and other construction work to begin in the Spring of 2016. The ITC is scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2017.
For more information about the ITC, please call Jason Begger, Executive Director of the Wyoming Infrastructure Authority, at 307-635-3573 or email at [email protected].
