News

The Wyoming Business Council, Idaho National Laboratory (INL), and the University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources Team Up for Energy Technology Research Commercialization

Study will evaluate technologies to add value to Wyo. energy resources

The state of Wyoming has teamed with a leader in the energy research industry to study how available technologies could add value to and improve markets for the state’s energy resources.

The Wyoming Business Council, Idaho National Laboratory http://www.inl.gov (INL), and the University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources have partnered to research the viability of transforming the state’s raw energy resources into higher value products.

The study will particularly focus on Hybrid Energy Systems (HES), which combine two or more complimentary resources, such as fossil, renewable or nuclear, to produce a variety of energy products that have much higher values than the commodities alone, for example, transportation fuels, chemical feedstock and electricity.

Hybrid Energy Systems combine raw energy resources with innovative conversion facilities to attain greater efficiency of resource use and plant utilization, resilience to varying market conditions, more efficient deployment of capital, and better stewardship of fossil resources and renewable energy resources like wind and solar.

"This study is a preliminary, in depth look at how Wyoming could better utilize the abundance of energy resources we have in the state to produce higher value energy products that could diversify and optimize our energy assets. This would potentially translate into more efficient use of resources, job growth, and ultimately an increased revenue stream for the state," said Bob Jensen, Business Council CEO. "We are excited to expand our partnership with INL and the University to help us achieve our business and economic goals for Wyoming."

Richard Boardman, Advance Process & Decision Systems manager at INL, said early engineering work suggests that combining operations differently across traditional boundaries may yield significant benefits.

"Hybrid Energy Systems could be game-changing and influence the research and development path forward for both fossil and renewable energy resources," said Boardman. "INL is excited to work with the University of Wyoming to provide Wyoming decision-makers with objective information about implementing such systems."

The study began this month and will be completed no later than March 31, 2013 with a progress report to the State Legislature’s Joint Minerals, Business and Economic development committee by Oct. 31, 2012.

INL is one of the U.S. Department of Energy’s 10 multiprogram national laboratories. The laboratory performs work in each of DOE’s strategic goal areas: energy, national security, science and environment. INL is the nation’s leading center for nuclear energy research and development. Day-to-day management and operation of the laboratory is the responsibility of Battelle Energy Alliance.

The mission of the Business Council is to facilitate the economic growth of Wyoming. The Business Council, a state government agency, concentrates its efforts on providing assistance for existing Wyoming companies and start-ups, helping communities meet their development and diversification needs, and recruiting new firms and industries targeted to complement the state’s assets. For more information, please visit http://www.wyomingbusiness.org.

Posted in:

Sorry, we couldn't find any posts. Please try a different search.

Leave a Comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.