News Story - Idaho State Journal

yranaivo@journalnet.com

IDAHO FALLS -- The land that the Center for Advanced Energy Studies now occupies was no more than a "vacant lot" when Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter last visited the site.

"It was really great to see a concept (that is) now starting to materialize," Otter said Monday morning. "You don't always see (concepts) materialize quite that fast."

Otter and his entourage paid a visit to Idaho Falls to tour the new facility, which is expected to be at the heart of energy research in the Gem State. The group walked through the hallways of the 55,000-square-foot facility. Some of the offices and laboratories remained unfurnished.

CAES broke ground in the winter of 2007 and was built with the intention of furthering energy research through a joint collaboration between the Idaho National Laboratory and the three major state universities. The center is also expected to earn revenue through future partnerships with private and public entities, including energy companies and federal agencies.

Otter lauded CAES' ability to generate promising return investments in addition to the four institutions' collaboration in energy research.

He said Idaho doesn't have the coal and oil resources found in its sister states but will be able to boost its own energy sources significantly with the addition of CAES. He said southern states, such as Nevada and California, are already generating energy from Idaho's neighboring states.

During his visit, Otter also sat through a conference with INL officials who presented figures on CAES' research goals and return investment.

CAES will perform research in nuclear, fossil fuels, bio-fuels, renewable and other alternative energy sources. The $17 million facility has also already generated about $2 million this year from its research programs, and officials expect to earn another $4 million by the end of the year.

A portion of CAES' revenue comes from faculty research programs that receive funding from private partnerships. CAES is currently pursuing partnerships with a number of companies involved in nuclear science, carbon management and bio-energy.

ISU President Arthur Vailas accompanied Otter through the tour and is confident CAES will put Idaho on the map for major energy research.

"It's a powerful message," he said. "So anything you can do to do research in energy will leverage dollars into Idaho from around the world."

By Yann Ranaivo

This document was originally published online on Tuesday, October 07, 2008

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