Wyoming Releases Study of a Collector System and Integration of Wind and Natural Gas

The following is a study conducted by ICF International under the direction of the Wyoming State Energy Office in Collaboration with the Wyoming Infrastructure Authority

The Wyoming State Energy Office and Wyoming Infrastructure Authority today officially released the Phase 2 Study that examines opportunities for locating and financing a collector system in the State; and identifies the relative capital costs of multiple scenarios for firming the inherent variability of wind with natural gas and electricity storage. Funding was provided by the U.S. Department of Energy through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Exporting Wyoming’s quality resources requires the construction of long-distance transmission lines to connect remote renewable resources to distant population centers. Currently, six (6) Extra-High Voltage transmission lines are proposed and in various stages of pre-development for Wyoming. Additional infrastructure assets, in the form of a collector system, are required to export Wyoming’s wind and natural gas-fired energy to the export transmission lines. A collector system feeds power into a large export transmission line.

The Phase 2 Study follows and expands on the Phase 1 Study, which was released in February 2010. Both studies were conducted by ICF International, a professional services firm that has advised public and private sector clients in the energy industry for more than 30 years. Both studies are available at www.wyia.org for review or download.

Events subsequent to the formation of the scope of work for the Phase 1 Study, including a third drawing of the Wyoming sage grouse core area map; continued development of transmission projects in the state; and the recent contracting of transmission capacity via the open season process indicate that a more compact, less expensive, collector system may be adequate.

“The ICF Phase 2 Study furthers the notion that our superb wind resources partner well with natural gas-fired generation to address the variability of wind. No appreciable new generation of any type will be built in our State without new transmission infrastructure, which is currently being planned by a number of good companies. Our Wyoming Infrastructure Authority has been tasked to support the responsible development of such new transmission and corresponding generation. I support the efforts of the State Energy Office and the WIA relative to this Study,” said Governor Matt Mead of Wyoming.

About the State Energy Office (SEO) and the Wyoming Infrastructure Authority (WIA)

The SEO is part of the Wyoming Business Council. 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 www.wyomingbusiness.org.

The WIA, an instrumentality of the State, was created in 2004 by the State Legislature and is tasked with expanding the Wyoming economy through improvements in the State’s electric transmission infrastructure; and facilitating the consumption of Wyoming energy for transmission. It is responsible for promoting the planning, development and financing of transmission facilities in the State including associated generation. In addition, the WIA has $1 Billion in bonding authority relative to transmission infrastructure in Wyoming including generation collector lines.