Wyoming ITC at Basin Electric's Dry Fork Station awarded funding

A carbon capture pilot project at the Wyoming Integrated Test Center (ITC) near Dry Fork Station in Gillette, Wyoming, has been awarded nearly $5 million through the Department of Energy (DOE) for research.

The large-scale project is the first of four DOE selections to be awarded federal funding under DOE’s Carbon Capture Large-Scale Pilot Projects Program.

“We have a great partnership with the ITC,” Terry Ackerman, Dry Fork Station plant manager, said. “Having them located adjacent to Dry Fork Station allows researchers to test Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Sequestration technologies using 20 megawatts of coal-derived flue gas. The research being done is important for the future of coal plants.”

The pilot project will include research firm TDA Research and Schlumberger Technology Corp. Together, they’ll deploy a carbon capture system at the ITC test bay. The goal is to deploy a system that could capture up to 158,000 metric tons of CO₂ each year. If successful, the hope is that the technology could be used at other coal plants around the world.

Phase 1 of the pilot project will begin with a front-end engineering design (FEED) study, which will last 18 to 22 months.

“We see great value in the research being done at the ITC, and we’re so pleased that the DOE does as well,” Ackerman said. “We are looking forward to seeing the results of TDA Research’s testing and feel hopeful about new technologies to come.”