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Wyoming

Sites with Clean Energy: 12

Total Installed Megawatts: 170

Sample Companies and Facilities Using Recycled Energy:

Key Wyoming Contacts:

• Wyoming Public Service Commission
• Wyoming Business Council (state energy office)
• Pacificorp
• Questar Gas

Wyoming Policies Affecting Recycled Energy

Statewide Interconnection Procedures: No

• Wyoming is one of only a handful of states that have not established statewide interconnection standards, thus making it harder, more expensive, and more complicated for individual businesses to choose to generate their own power.
• About statewide interconnection policies

Waste Heat Included in Renewable Portfolio Standard: No

• Wyoming does not have a renewable portfolio standard, despite a large potential quantity of industrial waste heat that could be profitably recovered with the right policies in place, greatly benefiting Wyoming's industrial sector.
• About waste heat in renewable portfolio standards

CHP in Utility Demand-Side Management: No

• In 2011 we provided testimony to the Wyoming Public Service Commission encouraging CHP to be considered in PacifiCorp's demand-side management portfolio, but we do not yet know if this will lead to an actual program or incentives. Such a program would greatly benefit Wyoming's industrial sector, helping it to reduce costs and save jobs.
• About CHP in efficiency portfolio standards

Output-based Emission Standards: No

• Not yet addressed in Wyoming.
• About output-based emission standards

Fair Standby Rates: Unknown

• We have not heard direct reports of Wyoming utility standby rates either helping or hurting CHP projects. Neither the legislature nor the public service commission has studied the issue. If you know of standby rates in Wyoming affecting individual projects, contact us.
• About standby rates

Recycled Energy Specific Incentives: No

Wyoming Electricity Prices

Like Utah, electricity prices in Wyoming remain very low in comparison to the national average, as well as being nearly tied with Utah in terms of having the lowest prices among the intermountain states. Along with these low prices, Wyoming has about the least volatility in price among the intermountain states, trending nearly linearly over time with only slightly more than a cent difference in price over a five year period.

Source: EIA; data is year-to-date through December 2010.
Note: All data post January 2010 are preliminary estimates based on a cutoff model sample.

Wyoming Natural Gas Prices

Natural gas prices in Wyoming are about the second least volatile and second lowest priced among the intermountain states. Trends in prices stay fairly consistent with average national prices while remaining just less than two dollars cheaper at most periods of time for the commercial customers and remaining about even or slightly lower in price for industrial customers. Due to this relatively low price, and volatility, CHP projects have a good chance of being economically sound.

When evaluating CHP, a considerable amount of attention needs to be placed on the price of natural gas, and where it may be headed in the future. The combination of relatively low electric prices and rising natural gas prices makes it more difficult for a CHP project to be economic and generate cost savings, but there are still going to be successful applications for the appropriate use of CHP. The best applications are those that value high reliability, have higher electric rates during peak times, spend a high percentage of their energy bill on air conditioning, and/or potentially could make use of a "waste fuel."

Source: EIA; data is year-to-date through December 2010.

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Incentives in Wyoming Check for incentives for clean energy projects in Wyoming at the Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency (DSIRE), or Contact Us to see if we know of others for which you may be eligible.

Project Profiles in Wyoming Search for 2-page Project Profiles on successful Wyoming recycled energy projects in our new database.