The Trump administration pulled federal funding for one of the projects intended to “save” Wyoming’s coal.
The Department of Energy (DOE) announced it’s stripping $3.7 billion for carbon capture research projects across the country. The technology is being developed in hopes of one day attaching to coal power plants and capturing carbon dioxide emissions to make them cleaner.
Nationwide, 24 projects are losing funding, including one in Wyoming. TDA Research is losing the $49.2 million that would’ve gone toward scaling up its current project based out of the Integrated Test Center (ITC). It’s a facility near a Gillette coal plant that houses carbon capture research – one of only a few like it in the world. There are four projects, and only one large-scale operation that’s intended to one day be a retrofit option for coal plants. TDA would’ve been the second.
“It is unfortunate, because we need all of the carbon capture technologies developing as rapidly as we can,” said Scott Quillinan, senior director of research at the University of Wyoming (UW) School of Energy Resources.
Wyoming produces the majority of the nation’s coal, but many states want more environmentally friendly energy. So for years, Wyoming has hedged its bets on carbon capture technology to keep it alive.
“Continuing to work on carbon capture and storage is really important to make sure that we can continue to sell into those markets,” said Quillinan.
The DOE said it’s stripping the funding for 24 carbon capture projects nationwide because it doesn’t think they’re cost-effective.
“After a thorough and individualized financial review of each award, DOE found that these projects failed to advance the energy needs of the American people, were not economically viable and would not generate a positive return on investment of taxpayer dollars,” according to a DOE press release.
But Quillinan said having multiple companies testing different ways to implement carbon capture will only help lower the price tag in the long run.
This news comes after much debate within Wyoming about the prospects of carbon capture. Some state lawmakers believe the laws requiring utility companies to implement the technology on their coal plants are only holding back the industry.
The laws were originally put in place to keep Wyoming’s coal plants relevant. Both federal and other state laws changed to prioritize environmentally friendly energy. While the Trump administration is rolling back those federal laws, some lawmakers push back that a different administration could reinstate the regulations.
As of now, Wyoming’s carbon capture laws remain in place. However, lawmakers plan to continue the discussion over interim meetings this summer.
Meanwhile, Quillinan said the ITC is waiting on another pot of federal funding that was caught up in the federal freezes. If it comes through, it could extend the lifespan of the research facility past its original closing date of 2027.
