Panel discusses new industrial projects

“Things are going to be fun in Sweetwater County,” Craig Rood, the Project West director of public relations, said.

A number of new industry-related projects, such as Project West, are slated to come to the community within the next few years. From trona mining technologies to carbon capture to nuclear energy, opportunities in and around Sweetwater County are expanding. To provide more information on these upcoming projects, the Sweetwater Economic Development Coalition hosted the “Southwest Wyoming Growth and Expansion Panel” last Thursday night.

The panel included Craig Rood representing Project West, Rita Meyer representing Terra Power, Alicia Summers representing Frontier Carbon Solutions, Meghan Kenny representing Carbon Capture Incorporated, and David Steed representing Pacific Soda.

The panelists were asked a number of questions about their projects, including questions about their projected construction timeframes, the number of temporary and permanent employees their projects would need, employee recruitment and local workforce training program plans, partnerships with other businesses and organizations, involvement within the community, and more.

Most of the project representatives expressed hopes of having things up and running within the next five years. They also estimated bringing in hundreds to thousands of employment positions temporarily and permanently. The panelists said they plan to recruit locally for employment positions, and they hope to continue working with sources like the high schools and Western Wyoming Community College to develop new training programs and prepare students to enter the workforce.

Summers with Frontier Carbon Solution said that “education is huge,” and giving students employment opportunities within the state is important.

“I think we have enough jobs that we can keep kids here,” Summers said.

Still, several panelists admitted that Wyoming won’t have enough workers to fill all the jobs, and some of the labor will need to come from out of state sources.

“Wyoming is in a real hurt with workforce,” Meyer from TerraPower said. “We’re also in a real hurt with housing.”

The question of housing was one that came up throughout the panel, with concerns that lack of available housing will become a problem with an increasing workforce.

“It’s a very challenging issue,” Steed with Pacific Soda said about housing needs, noting that it affects all the projects represented at the panel. “We’re creating a lot of benefit and incredible opportunity for not just the region but the state of Wyoming, but there’s also with that an impact upon the infrastructure within the region that we need to be part of the solution on as well.”

Steed said their project is looking at different options and there has been good discussion among legislatures about developing modular housing and facilitating both temporary and full-time housing needs. Rood noted that Project West has brought on a housing expert to help look at options, and Summers noted that county officials have been proactive about finding solutions and working together.

In general, the panelists were optimistic about not only their projects but the future of industry in Southwest Wyoming.

The full panel discussion can be viewed on the Sweetwater County Government YouTube channel.

 

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