Goshen County has been named one of three final sites for a clean coal research facility that has been described as an economic boon not only for Wyoming, but for the county that houses it.

Goshen, Laramie and Campbell counties have been chosen from a pool of 15 sites from around the state for the plant, which is a joint venture between the University of Wyoming and General Electric Co. In the coming weeks, the Governance Board, which consists of a representative from GE and the state of Wyoming, will review the top three sites and make further recommendations to the UW Board of Trustees, which will make the final decision.

Goshen County Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Lisa Johnson said the county applied for the research plant because of the capital investment and quality jobs the facility would bring to the area.

“It’s an asset for Wyoming, a chance for Wyoming to expand on the assets that are already here with Wyoming coal,” she said. “It’s a tremendous economic opportunity.”

The plant would consist of a small-scale gasification system, according to a press release from UW, and would allow researchers to develop economically feasible coal gasification technologies using Wyoming’s coal resources. Coal gasification is the process of turning coal into synthetic natural gas.

“(The plant would) try to get more value out of the coal,” Johnson said.

The plant would have 15-20 full-time employees. Job particulars have not been revealed, but Johnson said she thinks most will be research- and technology-based. UW and GE expect an additional 30-50 researchers and others would travel frequently to the plant, depending on the testing going on at the facility, according to the request for proposal document on the UW Web site.

“So we’ll also get a good economic impact from visitors,” she said.

The $100 million plant would take an estimated two to two and a half years to construct and would employ approximately 300 construction workers at its peak, according to the RFP. The plant would sit on 35 acres.

Proposals from each county are confidential, and Johnson was not able to release many details about what Goshen County’s proposal – housed in a binder several inches thick – entailed. She said GCEDC tried to find a site within the county that “best meets the criteria” in the RFP.

According to the RFP, the site needs to be “greenfield land that is level, flat with minimal vegetation, at or above 4,000 feet elevation” and free of obstructions either above or underground. Proposals also included a demographic profile of the county, verification that the site complies with environmental regulations, and information on whether the county’s infrastructure could handle such a facility.

Goshen County’s proposal indicated that the proposed site offered a location with readily available utilities and low development costs.

Johnson said she felt Goshen County was selected as a finalist because the team that put the proposal together is “very knowledgeable about the area and the development process.”

“It was a team effort to put together a very detailed proposal,” she said.

GCEDC board members were Bob Taylor of Benchmark Engineering, John Patrick, Ted Bentely, Ryan Schilreff, Neil Newman, Rolley Miller, Todd Peterson, Cactus Covello and Julie Kilty.

“Our business development committee had several meetings to work on this proposal,” Johnson said. “The board is fully committed to working on this project.”

GCEDC had full cooperation from Goshen County, the city of Torrington and the town of Lingle in creating the proposal, according to Johnson.

Johnson said she likes Goshen County’s chances of getting the facility, although being up against Campbell and Laramie counties is challenging because those areas have higher populations and more development.

“I think we put together a really competitive proposal,” she said. “The process of working on the project has been worthwhile for our organization and for our community.”

The plant is a “tremendous opportunity” for Goshen County, but Johnson noted that even if the plant goes to Campbell or Laramie counties, it will still benefit Wyoming.

The final three proposals will now undergo further review by the governance board, which will make a final recommendation to the UW trustees. The trustees are scheduled to make their decision by April 3.

Once a site is selected, architectural and engineering planning will occur in 2009-2010. Construction would begin this year and likely be completed in 2011. According to the UW Web site, the facility should be fully operational in 2012.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to have been able to bid on this project,” Johnson said. “It’s a broad team effort to put together the proposal that’s brought us this far.”

For more information on the facility or the proposal process, visit www.uwyo.edu/ge.

For the complete article see the 02-27-2009 issue.

Click here to purchase an electronic version of the 02-27-2009 paper.

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