By Julie Johansen
The Carbon/Emery County Economic Development Group met on Tuesday, April 23, at Emery Telcom’s Orangeville Office Board Room. The group keeps increasing in size, with both in-person and Zoom participants. This group meets once a month for informational and coordination purposes. As usual, local government officials, state economic leaders, University officials, Southeastern Regional Development Agency (SERDA) personnel, Legislative representatives, business executives and local residents were in attendance.
The first item on the agenda was an update from Laren Huntsman on PacifiCorp’s Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), released on April 1 of this year. The extended dates increase the life of Huntington Plant to 2036 and Hunter Plant until 2042. He continued to caution how important it is to use this time wisely to prepare for whatever the future may bring, as in one or two years, the dates have the potential to change when the IRP is updated again. If the Hunter Plant does extend until 2042, it will be the longest-standing plant in the Western United States. The new dates in the IRP provide time to find technologies to either further extend the plants life or replace them with other forms of base load power.
Another topic discussed was that Carbon Capture/Sequestration is developing on a commercial basis. Huntsman also gave an update on the Rocky Mountain Power and 8 Rivers announcement that they will collaborate on a proposed Wyoming carbon capture project. It was discussed how this may affect the Hunter and Huntington plants.
Brock Johansen and Dru Palmer then informed the group about the formation of an Interagency Working Group that focuses specifically on Carbon and Emery County. They stressed how important it is to have support from the Governor’ office. Palmer updated the group on a meeting held with Briggs White, Deputy Executive Director for the Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization, who said an individual from a Federal Agency is needed to help coordinate on the federal level between the many federal agencies.
Johansen has been in contact with the State Directors of the BLM, USDA, and the EDA. Clay Crozier, a Representative of the Governor’s Office stated that he will assist with coordination efforts on the State side.
There were several other updates given, including details about a Wyoming Funding Summit attended by a few people from Carbon/Emery County. Lacee Meyer, Community Planner at SERDA, was one of the individuals who attended and spoke about the importance of helping educate communities how to apply for grants and knowing what grants are available. Commissioner Jordan Leonard also gave an update on the recent Emery CEO Board Meeting.
Following the previous reports/update, it was common consensus that a grant writer is needed as soon as possible for our area to apply for the multitude of funding opportunities available.
Then Kody Powell, Chemical Engineer Professor at the University of Utah, addressed the group about an Energy Research grant he had received. He plans to focus his research on coal use extension, the San Rafael Energy Research Center and other technologies that this area’s coal fire power plants could transition to at the end of their life and the effects of doing so.
Next, Vice President of USU Eastern, Doug Miller, talked about USU Eastern’s partnership with Intermountain Electronics to provide paid internships opportunities for students. Then, USU President Elizabeth Cantwell discussed the process of setting up the recently announced Energy Engineering Program at USU Eastern, grant capture/strategy management and the possible role USU/USU Eastern could fill.