Wyoming
For energy and tech innovation, look to Wyoming – Washington Examiner
When you believe in the power of innovation, so-called problems are actually future business opportunities.
That’s the story of a pioneering company, Crusoe Energy Systems, which is using a waste product from the oil and natural gas industry to make waves in the technology sector. And it wouldn’t have happened without Wyoming’s willingness to explore bold new ideas and foster innovation.
Crusoe Energy Systems builds portable data centers that can be placed on remote oil and gas well sites. The data centers use field gas that would be vented or flared (in other words, wasted) as their power source.
This helps to solve a big problem for the technology sector. More and more people are storing data and running computer programs through the “cloud” — remote servers that connect to your laptop or cellphone via the internet. But the continued expansion of cloud computing means more and more data centers are needed, and these data centers are very energy-intensive.
The team at Crusoe Energy Systems realized that the cheapest forms of energy never make it to the grid. Instead, they are “stranded” in the remote locations where energy is often produced, whether it’s an oil and gas well in rural America or a hydroelectric dam in Iceland.
If that stranded energy could be harnessed and used to power data centers, it could provide a cost-effective way to boost the tech sector’s cloud computing capacity. Not only that, but eliminating wasted energy would be good for the environment, too.
The idea of building portable data centers, moving them around to different locations in the oil patch, and remotely connecting them to other cloud-computing facilities was not the simplest idea to sell, according to Crusoe Energy Systems cofounder Cully Cavness.
The first place to let the company test out the concept was Wyoming in 2018, Cavness said in a recent interview on 60 Minutes.
“That’s not necessarily an idea that everyone’s going to embrace automatically right off the bat before it’s been done before,” Cavness said. “Wyoming was. They invited us to come do it for the first time here. We did it at a small scale. We proved that it could work. And that helped us attract the funding and the other projects that had helped us scale to where we are today.”
The company now has around 200 portable data centers powered by 20 million cubic feet per day of gas that would otherwise have been wasted, according to Cavness. That’s the equivalent of removing the carbon dioxide emissions of several hundred thousand cars from the atmosphere every year.
More recently, Crusoe Energy Systems has taken the lessons learned from limiting wasted energy in the oil and natural gas industry and applied them to limit energy waste in the renewable energy sector. Imagine that: a tech startup with roots in the oil and gas industry teaching wind and solar developers about how to limit waste and help the planet.
It’s not surprising that a company that got its footing in Wyoming would think this way and see these opportunities. Despite the stereotype of Wyoming being a fossil-fuel state, Wyoming is without doubt an “all of the above” energy state.
What that means is we don’t see artificial dividing lines between different energy sources. They all have their place, and they can all work together.
By definition, the all-of-the-above attitude is open to new sources and new technologies, whether advanced nuclear reactors or carbon capture and sequestration.
This approach to energy and innovation is personified by Gov. Mark Gordon (R-WY), who has taken heat from left-wing environmental groups and even some members of his own party for not treating different energy sources as “good” or “bad.”
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“I have spoken, and will continue, to speak to audiences inside and outside Wyoming with the message that Wyoming provides energy of all types, and that our future — America’s and the world’s — depends on all types of energy,” Gordon wrote in a recent column.
Wyoming has a proud history of being open for business for all sources of energy. If we want to secure a prosperous future for the Cowboy State, then staying open for business is the right approach to take.
John Karakoulakis is the director of the Western Way, a nonprofit organization focused on free market solutions to western U.S. conservation issues.
ROCK SPRINGS, Wyoming (KUTV) — A man was hospitalized with critical injuries after he was reportedly shot by a deputy responding to reports of a disturbance.
Deputies with the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office and officers with the Rock Springs Police Department responded to the Sweetwater Heights apartment complex in the 2100 block of Century Boulevard just after 4 a.m. on Monday to investigate reports of a disturbance involving an armed individual.
Information that dispatch received indicated that the individual had shot himself. When officials arrived, they found the individual on the balcony of an upstairs apartment “who appeared to have a gunshot wound consistent with the initial report,” a press release states.
MORE | Officer-Involved Shooting
During the encounter, a deputy discharged their weapon and struck the individual.
Emergency medical personnel rendered aid, and the individual was transported to an area hospital in critical condition.
No law enforcement officers or members of the public were injured during the incident.
The Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation will conduct an independent investigation.
The deputy who fired their weapon was placed on administrative leave per standard protocol.
_____
by Maggie Mullen, WyoFile
Albert Sommers, former Wyoming Speaker of the House, announced Thursday he will attempt to reclaim a seat he formerly held for more than a decade in the statehouse.
“Leadership matters,” Sommers, a lifelong cattle rancher, wrote in a press release. “Right now, the Wyoming House is too often focused on division instead of solutions. We need steady, effective leadership that solves problems—not rhetoric and political theater.”
Voters in 2013 first elected Sommers to House District 20, which encompasses Sublette County and an eastern section of Lincoln County. As a lawmaker, Sommers largely focused on health care, education and water issues. Over six terms, he rose through the ranks, serving in leadership positions and chairing committees focused on education funding and broadband.
In his announcement, Sommers highlighted his legislative work to establish funding for rural hospitals, prioritize “responsible property tax relief,” as well as the creation of the Wyoming Colorado River Advisory Committee within the State Engineer’s Office, “to ensure our water users have a voice in critical decisions affecting the Green River Valley,” he wrote.
As speaker, Sommers was a frequent target of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus as well as the DC-based State Freedom Caucus Network, even getting the attention of Fox News and other national, conservative news outlets. They often accused Sommers of not being conservative enough, and criticized him for keeping bills in “the drawer,” which has long been code for the unilateral power a speaker has to kill legislation by holding it back. (The practice of holding bills has been used to a much higher degree under Freedom Caucus leadership.)
In 2023, Sommers used the speaker’s powers to kill bills related to a school voucher program, banning instruction on gender and sexual orientation from some classrooms and criminalizing gender-affirming care for minors. At the time, Sommers defended his decision to hold back “bills that are unconstitutional, not well vetted, duplicate bills or debates, and bills that negate local control, restrict the rights of people or risk costly litigation financed by the people of Wyoming.”
He reiterated that philosophy and defended his record in his Thursday campaign announcement.
“I am a common-sense conservative who believes in getting things done. I support our core industries—oil and gas, ranching, and tourism—and I will continue to fight for the people and natural resources of Sublette County and LaBarge. I am pro-gun, pro-life, pro-family, and pro-education,” Sommers wrote. “I also take seriously my oath to uphold the U.S. and Wyoming Constitutions, which means I didn’t support bills that violated those constitutions. I read bills carefully and I voted accordingly.”
Following his term as speaker, Sommers stepped away from the House to run for Senate District 14 in 2024. He lost in the primary election to political newcomer Laura Pearson, a Freedom Caucus-endorsed Republican from Kemmerer, who also won in the general election. Her Senate win coincided with the Freedom Caucus winning control of the House.
“That race didn’t go my way, and I respected the outcome,” Sommers said in a Thursday press release. But “the direction of the Wyoming House,” since then, he said, has “raised serious concerns.”
Sommers pointed to the Freedom Caucus and its budget proposal, which, despite a funding surplus, included major cuts and funding denials. Ahead of the session, the caucus said its sights were set on shrinking spending and limiting the growth of government.
In his Thursday press release, Sommers criticized “decisions that cut food assistance for vulnerable children, reduced business opportunities, slashed funding to the University of Wyoming, eliminated resources for cheatgrass control, denied raises for state employees, and removed positions critical to protecting Wyoming’s water rights.”
Most of those proposals did not make it into the final budget bill.
Sommers also pointed to a controversy that dominated the 2026 session after a Teton County conservative activist handed out campaign checks to lawmakers on the House floor. Lawmakers in both chambers unanimously voted to ban such behavior before a House Special Investigative Committee found that the exchange did not violate the Wyoming Constitution nor did it amount to legislative misconduct. A Laramie County Sheriff’s Office criminal investigation is still underway.
But “controversies like ‘Checkgate’ undermined public trust, and decorum in the House deteriorated,” Sommers said.
“Transparency and accessibility will remain central to how I serve,” Sommers said. “As I’ve done before, I will provide regular updates on legislation, seek your input, and clearly explain my votes.”
Incumbent bows out
Rep. Mike Schmid, R-La Barge, currently represents House District 20, but announced Thursday morning that he would not seek reelection.
“It has truly been an honor to serve as your State Representative for House District 20. When I first ran, I had hoped to serve up to three terms and continue building on what I learned during my first term,” Schmid wrote in a Facebook post. “But life can change your priorities. Over the past year, my family has gone through some difficult times. My wife is dealing with serious health issues, and the death of my brother, Jim, just a few short weeks ago have made it clear to me where I need to spend my time.”
In March, Bill Winney, a perennial candidate and former nuclear submarine commander, announced he would run for House District 20.
The official candidate filing period opens May 14.
This article was originally published by WyoFile and is republished here with permission. WyoFile is an independent nonprofit news organization focused on Wyoming people, places and policy.
Related
The following is a news release from the Wyoming’s Rock Springs Police Department:
ROCK SPRINGS, Wyo. — The Rock Springs Police Department is investigating a fatal incident that occurred early this morning in the parking lot of the Flying J Travel Center.
At approximately 5:00 a.m., a Flying J employee was working to direct commercial vehicle traffic within the lot. Initial findings suggest that as one semitruck began to move, the employee was positioned between that vehicle and a second stationary vehicle. The employee was subsequently pinned between the two units.
Rock Springs Fire Department and Castle Rock Ambulance arrived on the scene and coordinated life-saving measures. Despite the rapid response and medical intervention, the employee was pronounced deceased at the scene.
The identity of the deceased is being withheld at this time pending the notification of family members.
The driver involved in the incident, a resident of Idaho, remained on-site and has been fully cooperative with investigators. Following an initial statement and questioning, the driver was released. While the investigation remains open, the incident currently appears to be a tragic accident.
We extend our deepest condolences to the family of the deceased and the staff at Flying J. We also want to commend the rapid response and professional life-saving efforts coordinated by Rock Springs Fire and Castle Rock Ambulance during this difficult call.
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