DUKE ENERGY’S BIG WIND STRATEGY

CHEYENNE - North Carolina-based Duke Energy is becoming a major player in Wyoming wind energy with its Happy Jack Wind Farm project near Cheyenne, that it expects to have in operation by the end of the year.

The utility plans to begin building another wind power project in Wyoming early next year. Its Campbell Hill project near Casper will have 66 wind turbines that will begin generating up to 99 megawatts of electricity by late 2009.

Gov. Dave Freudenthal hailed the project as sending a signal “to others in America that you can make wind resources work in Wyoming. The next signal we need to send is that we can get power lines built and that we can create a regulatory climate that will allow those lines to be built,” he said.

Duke eventually plans to produce more than 5,000 megawatts of electricity from wind projects located primarily in the West, Southwest and Midwest. That’s more than 2 1/2 times the power generated by Rocky Mountain Power’s coal-fired Jim Bridger Power Plant near Rock Springs.

Duke’s first wind farm, on a ridge along Happy Jack Road west of Cheyenne, is a “local” project with 14 turbines that will supply up to 30 megawatts of wind-generated electricity to Cheyenne and environs - or almost a quarter of the community’s daily needs.

Duke has a long-term contract with Black Hills Corp. to supply clean, renewable energy to Black Hills’ subsidiary, Cheyenne Light, Fuel & Power. The utility company also has a 20-year agreement with PacifiCorp’s subsidiary, Rocky Mountain Power, to supply power generated by its Campbell Hill project near Casper. That renewable power will go into PacifiCorp’s integrated electric system serving customers in Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, Oregon, Washington and California.

“When I look at this project, Happy Jack, that will generate 30 megawatts and zero carbon electricity, we look at that as a very important step toward our goal of decarbonizing our fleet,” said Van Kempen predicted the project would be “a big success” for the city of Cheyenne, Laramie County and Wyoming and said, “There’s a new era of clean, renewable energy for the customers of Cheyenne Light, Fuel and Power.”

Good and Black Hills Corp. David Emery agreed that a mix of coal, natural gas, uranium and renewables will be needed to meet demands.

“There’s no silver bullet, and we don’t believe that any single technology will be the technology for the future,” Good said. “We believe it’s going to be a diverse mixture of fuels… There will be an important role for coal, an important role for natural gas, for nuclear energy and also for renewables like wind, solar and biomass. And at Duke, we also talk about the fifth fuel, which is energy efficiency.

SMALL WIND TURBINE PERMITTING TO BE DISCUSSED

Reported in the Star-Tribune

The Natrona County Development Department will hold a public meeting to determine the level of support for changing the Mountain Residential 1 and 2 zoning districts from conditional to permitted use for small wind energy systems at 6 p.m. on Nov. 24 in the Annex Building, 120 W. First St., according to a release.

The meeting stems from a Nov. 4 decision by the Natrona County Commission to amend the 2000 Zoning Resolution to allow as a permitted use small wind energy systems in all zoning districts where the minimum lot size is one-half acre or larger. The permitting of small wind energy systems in the Mountain Residential 1 and 2 zoning districts, however, was approved as a conditional use only.

Based on citizen comments and preferences expressed at the meeting, a recommendation will be made to the commissioners. For more information, contact Blair Leist or Trish Chavis at (307) 235-9435.

OPINION: THE WYOMING EFFECT

By Bill Schilling, Wyoming Business Alliance

The Casper Star-Tribune’s Sunday, Nov. 9 headline and article, “The Obama effect,” by Dustin Bleizeffer, provides a cursory yet incomplete view of Wyoming’s challenges. America is reeling due to Wall Street manipulations, mortgage failures, excessive spending and uncharted borrowing waters.

Here in Wyoming decisions by the next administration and Congress could have severe and lasting impacts.

Natural gas: Wyoming’s oil and gas industry accounts for 20 percent of the state’s employment, 32 percent of the state’s overall economy, and 43 percent of Wyoming’s gross state product (value-added). Thirty seven percent of state and local government employment, including education, can be traced to oil and gas revenues.

Needless to say, curtailment of oil and gas activity could have a direct bearing on Wyoming’s economy.

Coal: Cap-and-trade proposals in the next Congress could put a serious dent in Wyoming’s coal production. No one knows to what extent or how soon. Currently the nation’s No. 1 producer, Wyoming coal provides fuel for some 30 percent of all U.S. electricity generation.

One analysis states that Wyoming could see a drop in coal production by as much as 40 percent by 2030 — a cost to state and local governments of some $360 million a year, and the loss of 8,000 jobs.

Wyoming’s BTU wealth is driven by oil and gas, coal and uranium. Wind holds great potential and should grow significantly but simply can’t replace the other energy sources. Add to this rising energy consumption of an average of 2 percent or more a year.

Maintaining Wyoming’s energy production standing, and subsequent abundant tax revenues, is the Wyoming effect — an interest which can’t be dismissed here in Wyoming or Washington.

VIEWPOINT: UW TUITION COSTS GOOD FOR THE STATE

From the Star Tribune Editorial Board

The University of Wyoming should be congratulated for holding the line on tuition for its resident undergraduates for the third consecutive year.

It’s always tempting for an institution of higher education to raise tuition annually, just to keep up with inflation. It’s particularly true during such tough economic times as universities are currently experiencing. Throughout the country, many are tightening their belts by announcing hiring freezes, postponing construction projects and determining whether families can afford tuition increases.

But Wyoming’s energy-based economy has remained largely unaffected by national problems, enabling UW to comfortably manage with its share of state revenue from mineral severance taxes. In addition to not raising tuition, UW has been able to keep up a remarkable pace for new construction projects and renovations on the Laramie campus.

As Gov. Dave Freudenthal noted in 2007, when UW was considering a 3 percent tuition hike for residents, the state’s strong financial support for the university helps Wyoming fulfill its constitutional mandate to keep tuition “as nearly free as possible.” UW dropped the proposed increase then, and hasn’t suggested another one since.

UW Vice President for Administration Phil Harris, who presented an overview of 2009-10 tuition and fees for the board of trustees Friday, noted, “We wanted to make sure that we maintain accessibility of Wyoming resident undergraduate students to obtain higher education in Wyoming.”

In-state undergraduates now pay $3,621 per academic year, which ranks UW in the top 1 percent for affordability among public doctoral institutions. That’s an excellent accomplishment.

The only down side to not raising in-state tuition is what might happen if the Wyoming economy falters and the state’s financial support for UW must decrease. In that case, Wyoming students could see potentially huge tuition hikes.

But there are many reasons to believe that Wyoming’s energy-driven economy will continue to thrive as the state maintains its dominance in coal, natural gas and oil production while also tapping alternative resources such as wind and solar power.

Another reason to keep tuition low for Wyoming undergraduates is the fact that so many students have enrolled thanks to the Hathaway Scholarship program. Scholarships are awarded to high school seniors to attend UW or a community college based on grade point averages and ACT scores. They range from $800 to $1,600 per semester.

Harris said the university doesn’t want to diminish the value of the Hathaway Scholarships by raising tuition. That’s good news for the 2,136 UW students who are being assisted by the Hathaway program this fall, as well as students in the future.

WYOMING RIG COUNT DOWN

HOUSTON - The number of rigs actively exploring for oil and natural gas in Wyoming fell by three this past week. Houston-based Baker Hughes reports that nationwide, the number of rigs dropped by 51 this week to 1,941.

Of the rigs running nationwide, 1,498 were exploring for natural gas and 429 for oil. A total of 14 were listed as miscellaneous. A year ago, the national rig count stood at 1,797.

Of the major oil- and gas-producing states, Texas lost 23 rigs, Louisiana lost 13, New Mexico lost 12, Oklahoma lost six and Wyoming lost three. Arkansas gained two and Alaska, California, Colorado and North Dakota remained unchanged.