Commercial wind energy development in Wyoming: A guide for landowners
Dates
Year
2009
Citation
Parady, K., Lovato, J., Wolf, J., Hulme, D., and Burke, I., 2009, Commercial wind energy development in Wyoming: A guide for landowners: William D. Ruckelshaus Institute of Environment and Natural Resources, 92 p.
Summary
Coalbed methane is one of the most important and valuable natural resources in the Western United States. The natural gas that results from CBM development is the cleanest burning fossil fuel, and the extensive domestic supply makes it a central element of the national goal of a secure supply of energy. Demand for natural gas will continue to grow and CBM will play an increasingly larger role in meeting that demand. CBM production has expanded tremendously over the past decade, and the rapidity with which development has expanded has resulted in stresses and tension in affected communities. Development of this important energy resource must be balanced with a number of other important goals of protecting water, land, and other resources [...]
Summary
Coalbed methane is one of the most important and valuable natural resources in the Western United States. The natural gas that results from CBM development is the cleanest burning fossil fuel, and the extensive domestic supply makes it a central element of the national goal of a secure supply of energy. Demand for natural gas will continue to grow and CBM will play an increasingly larger role in meeting that demand. CBM production has expanded tremendously over the past decade, and the rapidity with which development has expanded has resulted in stresses and tension in affected communities. Development of this important energy resource must be balanced with a number of other important goals of protecting water, land, and other resources in the West. The primary purposes of the report are to: provide an overview of where CBM resources are located and how they are extracted, provide some background for understanding the issues surrounding CBM development and the role that it plays in the nation’s energy policy, review the public policies affecting the production of CBM, assess the major issues that have arisen in the West concerning CBM development and its impact on local communities and other natural resources, examine lessons that might be learned from different basins and that might be applied elsewhere, and suggest some basic principles and practical steps that might serve to address some of the conflicts that have arisen in CBM basins and that might be applied to shape future development in other basins.
