Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
Wyoming, a leading coal mining state, has been morphing into a key place to develop next-gen climate technologies like carbon removal, nuclear and wind.
Why it matters: The state shows how an "all of the above" energy region can aggressively attract low-carbon energy sectors in a changing world.
The big picture: Wyoming still gets 71% of its electricity from coal, but Gov. Mark Gordon has pledged to help the state go carbon-negative to fight climate change.
- The goal has sometimes made him unpopular with his Republican peers.
- His vision is to use carbon capture tech as a means to get there instead of shutting down coal plants.
- The reality is that the market for coal in the U.S. is declining. Wyoming can use climate tech to continue to grow its energy sector.
Driving the news: A number of novel startups will develop their first projects in the state.
- Last week, direct air capture company Spiritus said it had chosen Wyoming's Natrona County to build its first project. Spiritus CEO and co-founder Charles Cadieu told Axios earlier this year that the state's unique rock geology will be key to holding injected carbon dioxide underground.
- Cowboy Clean Fuels, a startup injecting sugar beet waste into coal seams, initially focused on the state because Wyoming has ample coal seams in its Powder River Basin. The company started injections in June.
- Wind startup Airloom Energy, based in Laramie, Wyoming, is developing its pilot project in the city and is hiring workers from the state's mature wind industry.
Zoom in: These types of next-gen climate technologies are joining Wyoming's growing clean energy sectors of advanced nuclear and wind.
- Advanced nuclear company TerraPower, backed by Bill Gates, is building its first demonstration reactor in Kemmerer, Wyoming. The state has ample uranium ore reserves, including the type that many advanced reactors need.
- Wyoming Sen. Cynthia Lummis told Axios Pro Energy Policy's Nick Sobczyk in June "we're just a state that doesn't have knee-jerk reactions to nuclear energy. It's something that's been in our legacy DNA for a long time."
- Wyoming, one of the windier states in the U.S., has seen its wind sector grow significantly, providing 21% of the state's electricity.
Zoom out: The entrepreneurs running climate tech businesses say the state, and Gordon, have developed a business-friendly environment for energy companies.
- "It starts at the top," says Airloom Energy's CEO Neal Rickner, adding the company has followed the governor's lead.
- "Wyoming is 100% bullish on energy, all types of energy, and will continue to be that way," said Gordon at an event for the Wyoming Energy Authority (WEA) in May.
- The WEA has authorized $67 million from its energy matching grants program and has leveraged $185 million in federal and private capital, said WEA's Rob Creager.
