Wyoming Business: Wind, sludge might be keys to energy crunch

CHEYENNE — Two pilot power projects in the Cheyenne area will soon be demonstrating how communities can produce additional electricity in environmentally friendly ways from renewable resources — wind and sludge gas.

The Wyoming Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources recently utilized a U.S. Department of Energy grant to install a unique Wyoming-designed wind turbine at Curt Gowdy State Park west of Cheyenne.

While harnessing Wyoming’s abundant wind is hardly a novel idea, the vertical-axis wind turbine that was installed is a new twist, as is the thought of installing a wind turbine in a park setting.

The 20-kilowatt vertical-axis wind turbine…