Educating on energy

Carbon County, as its name implies, earned its name from coal production. Yet, today, it serves as an example of Governor Mark Gordon’s “all-of-the-above” approach to energy development.

Each year, on the first day of the Carbon County Fair, the Carbon County Economic Development Corporation (CCEDC) showcases energy development in the county with their annual Energy Day. This year, it was held on July 31.

“We’ve been historically known for our energy production, initially it revolved around coal and we’ve diversified into coal and natural gas. Now we’ve seen ourselves evolve more into wind energy and possibly hydro-generated energy,” said Copper France, CCEDC Board President and CEO of the Bank of Commerce. “Energy day is an education piece to help people understand that there’s more to energy than carbon-type products. The reality of it is, Carbon County relies heavily on energy, it doesn’t matter what source it is.”

A newcomer to Energy Day 2023 was rPlus Energies out of Salt Lake City, Utah. rPlus Energies is currently pursuing the Seminoe Pumped Storage Project at Seminoe Reservoir near Rawlins through rPlusHydro.

“The best way to sum up a pumped storage hydroelectric development project is to think of it as a giant water battery that captures excess energy that’s generated during off-peak hours,” said Kevin Brooks, who represented rPlus Energies on July 31. “Then, it uses that energy later on when there’s a demand for it during peak hours.”

With a number of wind energy projects beginning or slated to begin in Carbon County, it may be easy for some to think of the project at Seminoe Reservoir as yet another energy generation project. Instead, it is a project for energy infrastructure. In this type of project, water is pumped to an upper reservoir during times of low electrical demand. Then, when electrical demand is high, water is released back into the lower reservoir through a turbine, generating electricity. In thinking about it as a “giant water battery,” the project stores the potential energy of water until there is a demand.

“It does generate electricity but, in terms of generating its own power, it’s not the primary generator source,” said Brooks.

The project just completed the license application phase with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and will soon be undergoing the Environmental Impact Study process. A 900 megawatt energy storage project, Seminoe Pumped Storage is estimated to bring $9 million in annual revenues to taxing entities and $70 million in sales tax revenue. It’s also projected to create 500 direct construction jobs during a four to six year period with 35 full-time jobs once it is completed.

Also in attendance at the 2023 Energy Day was Williams, which handles approximately one-third of the natural gas used by the United States. With thousands of miles of pipeline throughout Carbon County and a processing facility in Echo Springs near Wamsutter, Williams is a significant employer in the area.

“We’re also in charge of around 2,500 assets in the field. We take the gas from the production side and we bring it through transmission lines, get it into our plant, process it and ship it out,” said Mike Mann. “We have two different groups of workers in the Wamsutter area. We have our facility workers. In the field, we’re divided into geographic regions and each region has x number of wells and a specific number of workers that are tied to that location. We’re responsible for the measurement at the meter, pipeline maintenance and gas sampling.”

According to Todd Canaday, who also represented Williams at the 2023 Energy Day, the company employs over 100 people in the county including in Wamsutter, Rawlins and Baggs. The company prefers to hire locals rather than bringing people from outside the area, said Mann, because the locals understand the area and the weather brought on in both summer and winter seasons.

Natural gas was also represented by Black Hills Energy.

“Natural gas is the cheapest way to heat your water and heat your home,” said Jesse Henderson. “It’s a very safe product as long as it stays in the pipe.”

Henderson would know as he is the damage prevention coordinator for Black Hills Energy. At Energy Day, he presented examples of what happens when residents don’t use the statewide 811 program. These examples included stakes and fence posts driven through gas lines, something which could have been prevented especially since the service is free.

“There’s two ways to do that. If you make a phone call, the law states you have to white-mark it out. You can either take white paint and mark the area you’re going to dig, you can take some white flags or white lattice and put it in there,” said Henderson. “If you do a web ticket, you actually have control of the polygon. You’re going to highlight the area you’re going to dig and that’s all you have to do if you’re doing a web ticket.”

While Energy Day has an education component, said France, it also keeps with the CCEDC’s goal of connecting businesses with employees.

“I would see it as an educational component for the entire community but the other piece I see is all of these industries that are represented here, they all need employees,” said France. “We have to start planting that seed in the minds of these kids so what a great opportunity to say ‘These are the kinds of cool things we do on a day-to-day basis.’”

France also praised CCEDC Director Yvonne Johnson.

“Yvonne does a great job of trying to marry all the people up to help Carbon County economic development,” said France. “She’s done a great job of building a lot of relationships all across Carbon County.”