CASPER — Rocky Mountain states continue to expand natural gas production, which has spawned several efforts to increase storage capacity to hedge against volatile pricing.
Industry leaders say expanding gas storage in the Rockies is also key to enabling more natural gas-fired electrical generation.
With uncertainty regarding carbon regulation, utilities are turning to natural gas as an alternative to coal. Plus, gas-fired generation can help utilities balance the irregular electrical pulse from new wind farms that are sprouting up in the region.
“Despite what you hear, the wind doesn’t always blow in Wyoming,” said Mark Stege of Cheyenne Light, Fuel & Power.
A wind farm built with 100 megawatts of total generating capacity, for example, will likely only generate at full capacity about 40 percent of the time, on average. That’s why 1 megawatt of coal-fired electricity is said to provide enough energy to power about 700 homes, whereas 1 megawatt of wind power is enough to power about 300 homes.
Stege said Cheyenne Light, Fuel & Power’s two wind farms generally produce energy in “off-peak” periods.
“It demonstrates the continued need for base-load generation,” he said.
Stege was among several industry professionals who spoke at the Wyoming Pipeline Authority board meeting Thursday in Casper. The quasi-governmental agency is encouraging utilities, gas pipeline companies and gas storage companies to invest in more storage capacity.
For Wyoming, more storage capacity is a vital link to expanding both its natural gas industry and the state’s ambition to export more electrical power.
Already, several efforts are under way.
Blue Sky Gas Storage LLC plans to convert an abandoned oil field in northeast Colorado to a natural gas storage facility. Merchant Energy Partners plans to expand another gas storage field in the same region. Both companies said they had more than enough customers subscribe to the projects.
Williston Basin Interstate Pipeline Co. said it also has plans for a major upgrade of its Baker storage field in Montana — already the largest storage facility in North America.
