Oregon Governor Tina Kotek kicked off the final workshop of the Decarbonizing the West initiative by speaking about the importance of interstate collaboration for successful decarbonization efforts.
“If our communities across the West are to thrive, we need to build a more resilient future that forges connection across our landscapes and brings rural and urban economies together on those solutions,” she said. " We must not be daunted by the speed and the scale of the changes on the landscape that we're already seeing in the West… With the support of the Western Governors, I think we can be a model for the nation to actually make progress.”
Watch session recordings here.
The third workshop of the Western Governors’ Association’s Decarbonizing the West initiative was held in Denver, Colorado on February 7 and 8.
This workshop, hosted by Colorado Governor Jared Polis, examined issues related to carbon removal technologies including direct air capture (DAC) and geologic carbon storage.
Watch recordings of the Denver Workshop here.
The second workshop of Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon's WGA Chair initiative, Decarbonizing the West, was hosted by Governor Brad Little in Boise, Idaho.
The two-day workshop focused on strategies for expanding natural carbon sequestration methods as a way to not only decarbonize the atmosphere but also create an avenue by which the West’s legacy industries can thrive in an emissions-free future.
It also featured remarks from Governor Gordon and Governor Little.
Watch all the full workshop, here.
Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon launched his WGA Chair initiative, Decarbonizing the West, at Gillette College on September 21. During his opening remarks, he called on the West to put politics aside and unite in the name of decarbonization.
"There really is no challenge I can see that is more important for us to address responsibly, thoughtfully, and most importantly, honestly, than climate change - and that is what this initiative is about," Governor Gordon told the crowd at Gillette College. "If we can change the conversation from fossil [energy] bad, renewable [energy] good, to what do we do to make things work better, what do we do to reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, what are our opportunities to grow our economy... We have a better shot of addressing this issue and leading the global charge."
In recent years, landmark federal legislation such as the IIJA and Inflation Reduction Act have created significant opportunities for the research and development of carbon management technologies, resulting in the largest investment into carbon management and commercialization provisions in decades.
At the Gillette Workshop of the Decarbonizing the West initiative, Brad Crabtree, Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy and Carbon Management, spoke with Governor Gordon about the federal landscape as it relates to carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS), and ongoing DOE efforts to advance carbon capture technology development and implementation.
Federal regulations including financial incentives and tax credits, leasing and siting, and well permitting for carbon storage create a complex regulatory landscape for CCUS development. During this panel, CCUS experts from around the region examined regulatory barriers that impede the research, development, and implementation of CCUS and other carbon dioxide removal technologies in the west.
Panelists: Matt Fry, Senior Policy Analyst, Great Plains Institute, Tara Righetti, Occidental Professor of Energy and Environmental Policy, University of Wyoming, Stephen Fusilier, HQ Branch Chief, Rights-of-Way, Bureau of Land Management, Todd Parfitt, Director, Wyoming Dept. of Environmental Quality. Moderated by: Randall Luthi, Chief Energy Advisor, Office of Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon.
Decarbonizing the West Gillette Workshop: CCUS Technology Showcase
Wyoming’s Integrated Test Center (ITC) is a research facility established to support the development of advanced carbon capture, utilization, and storage technologies by providing a real-world testing environment for organizations and researchers working on innovative carbon dioxide removal in the industrial sector. During this panel, technology vendors at the ITC gave a technical overview of ITC projects and discussed the challenges and opportunities for CCUS development in western states.
Panelists: Yutaro Hara, Assistant Manager, CCUS Section, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Brice Freeman, Director of Carbon Capture, Membrane Technology and Research, Ambal Jayaraman, Principal Engineer, TDA Research, Howard Meyer, Senior Institute Engineer, GTI Energy. Moderated by: Will Morris, Technical Director, Integrated Test Center.
