CASPER - Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal says it is unacceptable to "do nothing" when it comes to global warming, and ultimately, the Cowboy State needs to make the transition from a traditional energy economy to a green, renewable energy economy. That means a blend of old and new energy resources, he said.

Freudenthal spoke before a packed audience at Casper College last month - the last speaker in a series of presentations about the impact of climate change on Wyoming. The series was sponsored by Casper College, University of Wyoming's Helga Otto Haub School and William Ruckelshaus Institute of Environment and Natural Resources and moderated by Anne McKinnon.

The governor was asked by a member of the audience whether Wyoming should become part of the Copenhagen Consensus, which seeks to establish priorities for advancing global welfare. The Copenhagen Consensus was created by Bjorn Lomborg, author of "The Skeptical Environmentalist" and guest speaker the following day at the Wyoming Business Alliance's Wyoming Forum, which focused on climate change this year.

Freudenthal declined joining the Consensus, saying that while establishing priorities is a fine exercise, he's bothered by how the Copenhagen Consensus is used.

"It becomes an excuse for people doing nothing," said the governor. "That's unacceptable to me." He personally believes climate change to be real and requires action. Nothing can be done about nature's contribution to climate change, but burning fossil fuels can be changed, he said.



Clean energy markets

The governor repeatedly emphasized that it doesn't matter whether individuals believe or doubt that climate change is caused by burning fossil fuels. That doesn't change the fact that customers like California believe it, and that if the state wants to maintain its economy, it'll have to develop clean energy technologies for a world-wide market.

"If we're going to have the economy we want, we need to take a serious look at management of carbon," said Freudenthal. "If we get this done, Wyoming is going to be a great place for our grandchildren. If we don't get it done, it's going to be difficult."

The governor said it is incredibly arrogant for the United States and other Western countries to tell people in China and India that they can't have or aspire to middle-class lifestyles enjoyed by Americans. Yet energy consumption goes up as people rise from poverty to middle-class status.

Developing countries are highly focused on economics, but not so much on the environment. The best tack for Wyoming to take, said the governor, is to develop clean coal technologies and sell them to developing countries.

Wyoming, after all, is leading the rest of the country in carbon capture and sequestration research, enhanced oil recovery and is "a player in traditional energy and the emerging energy economy," he said.



GE and UW

Freudenthal was asked what Wyoming would get out of the $50-million project with General Electric, and he referred to an article about that topic carried in the Internet magazine, WyoFile.com.

The governor noted that lots of companies came to talk to Wyoming about clean coal research, and most "wanted a siphon into our treasury." It was GE, and only GE, that came with money in hand, offering a 50-50 partnership with Wyoming, he said.

As for what Wyoming may gain from the deal, said Freudenthal, the biggest gainers will be UW students who will be highly employable with their hands-on experiences at the GE pilot plant. Secondly, he said, UW faculty may have "an Aha! moment" to the benefit of UW and the state.

As for the possibility of disputes between GE and UW on who discovered what, when and how, Freudenthal said that was a subject for lawyers specializing in intellectual property.



Wind energy

The governor said wind energy has incredible potential in Wyoming, "but the show stopper is in getting transmission lines across state borders." Freudenthal said California is hungry for renewable energy from Wyoming, and DC (direct current) power lines could do the job.

The biggest obstacle is Utah, which would not benefit from the power lines or the electricity.

Another big obstacle is the East and West power grids, which border each other on Wyoming's eastern border. If Wyoming is to have a viable wind energy industry, it needs transmission lines to carry power to customers, he said.

(Biodiversity Conservation Alliance just released a report, "Wind Power in Wyoming: Doing it Smart from the Start," showing on maps where the best sites are for wind farms, away from any potential environmental conflicts. See the story on page 6.)



Will coal expand?

While wind generation and power lines work themselves out, said Freudenthal, Wyoming can anticipate that Powder River Basin coal will expand its eastern United States market, as Appalachian coal is sold overseas for metallurgical uses.

Wyoming will continue with natural gas and coal-bed-methane production, said Freudenthal, especially as more natural gas power plants are built to replace an aging cadre of coal-burning power plants.

The governor said he anticipates that the United States will move toward the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel, which generates more useable nuclear fuel (and plutonium), following the French model. That may cut into demand for Wyoming's uranium reserves, said Freudenthal, but he noted that the School of Energy Resources is adding a uranium program.

He also expressed reservations about biomass energy or food to fuel. Converting corn into fuel impacts the livestock industry, he noted. Freudenthal expressed hope that someone would come up with a way to convert Wyoming's massive stands of beetle-killed pine trees into biomass fuels.



Second Great Depression?

"The real troubling period is in the near term," said Freudenthal, "and I hope it is short and doesn't turn into the second Great Depression." He predicted that with less energy demand and lower prices, Wyoming's energy-based revenues will take a hit, but emphasized that state revenues are "okay" right now.

He cautioned that Wyoming needs to remain disciplined and see the GE/UW project through over the next three years, noting that his current term would be up in two years.

Asked if he intended to run for a third term, Freudenthal said, "I don't know" and grinned.

In a question and answer period, Freudenthal said he didn't want to get involved with regional approaches to reducing CO2 emissions, calling that a "balkanization" of the issue and creating more problems. What's needed is national policy, he said. He said he could accept a federal cap and trade program to reduce carbon emissions.



Wyoming Business Report Managing Editor Brodie Farquhar can be reached at brodief@wyoming.com or 307 333-4024.