University of Wyoming trustees on Friday approved initial planning for a building that will house a UW Wind Energy Research Center, including a large, closed-loop wind tunnel.

The action came after UW President Tom Buchanan and Vice President for Research Bill Gern updated trustees on the project, which is a result of a $5 million gift from BP America Inc.

Gern said the $2 million BP grant specifically for the wind energy building would be eligible for matching funds from the Legislature for academic facilities. Through the wind energy center, UW seeks to become a leading national, university-based interdisciplinary research group focused on wind energy.

Jonathan Naughton, mechanical engineering professor and center director, was quoted in a UW press release as saying that the proximity of the Laramie campus to the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo., and to the wind-rich sites in the northern Great Plains, "combined with the limited efforts elsewhere in the nation, also provide unique opportunities for the center."

Naughton said the center will address the rapid advancements in wind turbine design necessary to increase the contribution of wind turbines to the nation's electricity needs.

Buchanan also told trustees that initial negotiations with General Electric were proceeding for the construction of an advanced coal-gasification research and technology center in Wyoming, perhaps near the UW campus.

Buchanan, Gov. Dave Freudenthal and GE signed a letter of intent in February on the project, which would consist of a small-scale gasification system that would allow UW and GE researchers to develop advanced coal gasification technology solutions for Powder River Basin and other Wyoming coal.

Buchanan said the plant would produce 5 megawatts of power, enough to power 5,000 homes.

Wyoming Attorney General Bruce Salzburg has been appointed to lead a team working out a "joint development agreement" with GE, which should be completed by the end of this month, with "definitive agreements" to follow, Buchanan said.

"It appears likely the University of Wyoming will be the entity which owns the facility," he said.

The president said "an objective scientific procedure" would be used to select the best site for the project, analyzing numerous factors.