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State Energy Alternatives Home About State Energy Alternatives Why Consider Alternative Energy Technology Options Policy Options Alternative Energy Resources by State

Alternative Energy Resources in Wyoming

Below is a short summary of alternative energy resources for Wyoming. For more information on each technology, visit the State Energy Alternatives Technology Options page.

For more information, including links to resource maps, energy statistics, and contacts for Wyoming, visit EERE's State Activities and Partnerships Web site's Wyoming page.

Biomass

Studies indicate that Wyoming has fair biomass resource potential. For more state-specific resource information, see Biomass Feedstock Availability in the United States: 1999 State Level Analysis.

Geothermal

Wyoming has high-temperature resources that are suitable for electricity generation, as well as direct use and heat pump applications. For more information on geothermal resources, including resource maps, visit GeoPowering the West.

Hydropower

Wyoming has a good hydropower resource as a percentage of the state's electricity generation. For additional resource information, check out the Idaho National Laboratory's Virtual Hydropower Prospector (VHP). VHP is a convenient geographic information system (GIS) tool designed to assist you in locating and assessing natural stream water energy resources in the United States.

Color-coded U.S. map showing solar resources for flat-plate collectors. Color-coded map showing solar resources for flat-plate collectors in the state of Wyoming.
Color-coded map showing solar resources for concentrating collectors. Color-coded map showing solar resources for concentrating collectors in the state of Wyoming.

Solar

To accurately portray your state's solar resource, we need two maps. That is because different collector types use the sun in different ways. Collectors that focus the sun (like a magnifying glass) can reach high temperatures and efficiencies. These are called concentrating collectors. Typically, these collectors are on a tracker, so they always face the sun directly. Because these collectors focus the sun's rays, they only use the direct rays coming straight from the sun.

Other solar collectors are simply flat panels that can be mounted on a roof or on the ground. Called flat-plate collectors, these are typically fixed in a tilted position correlated to the latitude of the location. This allows the collector to best capture the sun. These collectors can use both the direct rays from the sun and reflected light that comes through a cloud or off the ground. Because they use all available sunlight, flat-plate collectors are the best choice for many northern states. Therefore, this site gives you two maps: one is the resource for a concentrating collector and one is the resource for a flat-plate collector.

What do the maps mean? For flat-plate collectors, Wyoming has a good useful resource throughout the state. For concentrating collectors, Wyoming has a good resource that is useful for a variety of technologies.

The Renewable Energy Atlas of the West estimated the annual solar electricity generation potential in Wyoming to be 72 billion kWh, based on the following assumptions:

  • Rooftop and open space installed systems represent 0.5% of the total area of the state.
  • Solar panels occupy 30% of the area set aside for solar equipment.
  • The average system efficiency is 10%.

Wind

According to Wind Powering America, Wyoming has wind resources consistent with utility-scale production. There is a large area of excellent to superb resource in the southeastern part of the state north of Cheyenne. Other outstanding resource areas are in south-central Wyoming from the Colorado border north toward Casper. Additional regions with good to excellent resource are between Casper and Gillette in northeastern Wyoming and on ridge crests throughout the state. In addition, small wind turbines may have applications in some areas. For more information on wind in Wyoming, including wind maps, visit Wind Powering America's Wyoming Wind Activities.

The Renewable Energy Atlas of the West estimated the annual wind electricity generation potential in Wyoming to be 883 billion kWh. The estimate excludes 100% of the following areas, which are assumed to be infeasible for wind development:

  • Landforms – land with a slope of greater than 20%.
  • Environmentally sensitive areas.
  • All National Park Service lands.
  • All fish and wildlife lands.
  • All Forest Service or BLM lands with "special" designations, such as national recreation areas and national wilderness areas.
  • All bodies of water.
  • Wetlands.
  • Urban areas.

Energy Efficiency

Energy efficiency means doing the same work, or more, and enjoying the same comfort level with less energy. Consequently, energy efficiency can be considered part of your state's energy resource base - a demand side resource. Unlike energy conservation, which is rooted in behavior, energy efficiency is technology-based. This means the savings may be predicted by engineering calculations, and they are sustained over time. Examples of energy efficiency measures and equipment include compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs), and high efficiency air conditioners, refrigerators, boilers, and chillers.

Saving energy through efficiency is less expensive than building new power plants. Utilities can plan for, invest in, and add up technology-based energy efficiency measures and, as a consequence, defer or avoid the need to build a new power plant. In this way, Austin, Texas, aggregated enough energy savings to offset the need for a planned 450-megawatt coal-fired power plant. Austin achieved these savings during a decade when the local economy grew by 46% and the population doubled. In addition, the savings from energy efficiency are significantly greater than one might expect, because no energy is needed to generate, transmit, distribute, and store energy before it reaches the end user.

Reduced fuel use, and the resulting decreased pollution, provide short- and long-term economic and health benefits.

For more information on current state policies related to energy efficiency, visit the Alliance to Save Energy's State Energy Efficiency Index.

The Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP) also has fact sheets on energy efficiency and energy consumption in the southwestern states.