Despite some recent increases, Wyoming continues to have low cost electricity compared to national averages – even as the state weighs different energy sources and innovative options like nuclear energy and carbon capture and storage. The current Chairman of the Wyoming Public Service Commission, Mary Throne, talks about her journey to serve on the Commission, how the Commission functions, and why she thinks Wyoming is the right place for energy innovation.

Artificial intelligence, machine learning, blockchain, and other forms of digital innovation have become buzzwords, but these increasingly common terms underly powerful technologies that can be applied to the energy sector. In this episode, Dr. Krutka sits down with Dr. Soheil Saraji, the director of the newest center of excellence at the University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources – the center for Subsurface Energy and Digital Innovation, to discuss how these technologies work, why they might be useful to Wyoming’s energy sector, and what opportunities may await students entering this field of study.

As the least populated state in the nation, and a place where outdoor recreation is a way of life, Wyomingites deeply value wild lands and wildlife. Balancing energy production with Wyoming’s respect for the natural world requires diverse stakeholders to work together to find balance. Perhaps no organization is more emblematic of such collaboration than the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust, led by executive director Bob Budd. Mr. Budd sits down with Dr. Krutka to talk about the Trust, the sage-grouse implementation team (SIGT), how industry, state and federal stakeholders, conservation groups have successfully increased habitat for this important bird, and how Wyoming’s process might be a model for protecting wildlife habitat in the west and beyond.