In 2008, Medicine Bow Fuel & Power LLC (MBFP) – a subsidiary of Texas-based DKRW Advanced Fuels LLC – applied for a loan guarantee to build a $2 billion “coal-based power generation and industrial gasification” plant in Medicine Bow, Wyoming.ⁱ The Department of Energy’s review of the request stalled in 2010 and as of March 2013 DKRW’s loan guarantee application remains inactive. In its decade-long history, the Medicine Bow project has faced a series of construction delays as well as multiple unsuccessful attempts to secure financing.  In that time, DKRW, through its actions, has repeatedly demonstrated that the project has no prospects of success. In fact, Arch Coal, one of country’s large coal producers and a key DKRW investor, recently acknowledged that its investment in the company’s CTL facility is unrecoverable.ⁱⁱ

According to recent comments by Wade Cline, DKRW’s Executive Vice President and General Counsel, the company has continued its discussions with DOE and remains optimistic that its loan guarantee request will be approved.ⁱⁱⁱ  With $1.75 billion at stake, a loan guarantee to the high-risk project using expensive, unproven CTL technology is too risky for taxpayers.

Below is a timeline detailing estimated project costs, licensing benchmarks, funding applications, timetable extensions and general updates associated with the Medicine Bow project.

Sources
[i] Department of Energy, “Loan Guarantee Solicitation Announcement.” September 22, 2008. https://lpo.energy.gov/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/FE_Sol9_22_08.pdf
[ii] Arch Coal. Form 10-K, 2009 Annual Report.”  p. F-17, F-18
[iii] http://trib.com/business/energy/dkrw-seeks-financing-from-federal-program-that-funded-solyndra/article_f36c797a-0585-59f6-848d-6a786b847b75.html
[iv] https://www.moodys.com/research/Moodys-US-contract-dispute-credit-negative-for-Sinopec-Engineering–PR_294029?WT.mc_id=MDCAlerts_realtime
[v] https://markets.jpmorgan.com/research/email/m2eod939/GPS-1335175-0
[vi] https://www.moodys.com/research/Moodys-US-contract-dispute-credit-negative-for-Sinopec-Engineering–PR_294029?WT.mc_id=MDCAlerts_realtime
[vii] http://trib.com/business/energy/dkrw-seeks-financing-from-federal-program-that-funded-solyndra/article_f36c797a-0585-59f6-848d-6a786b847b75.html 
[viii] http://deq.state.wy.us/isd/downloads/Order_2013_1218_MBFP.pdf
[ix] http://www.saratogasun.com/story/2013/12/25/news/industrial-siting-council-approves-dkrw-amendment/1763.html?m=true
[x] http://deq.state.wy.us/isd/downloads/MBFP_AmendmentRequest2013_0920.pdf
[xi] http://wyomingpublicmedia.org/post/dkrw-start-construction-medicine-bow-plant-one-year
[xii] http://wyomingpublicmedia.org/post/dkrw-start-construction-medicine-bow-plant-one-year
[xiii] http://finance.yahoo.com/news/carbon-county-anxious-coal-gas-155515110.html
[xiv] http://wyomingpublicmedia.org/post/dkrw-facility-takes-big-step-forward
[xv] http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2011/12/20/wyoming_asks_national_lab_to_review_coal_plant/
[xvi] http://wyofile.com/allen-best/locals-say-dkrws-coal-to-gasoline-plant-needs-more-scrutiny/
[xvii] https://lpo.energy.gov/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/medbow-sm.pdf
[xviii] http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2009-11-27/pdf/E9-28408.pdf
[xix] http://energy.gov/nepa/downloads/eis-0432-notice-intent-prepare-environmental-impact-statement
[xx] http://trib.com/barrasso-dkrw-letter-to-energy-department/pdf_320b6a38-c434-5496-b667-5784b8aaf412.html
[xxi] http://trib.com/barrasso-dkrw-letter-to-energy-department/pdf_320b6a38-c434-5496-b667-5784b8aaf412.html
[xxii] http://wyomingpublicmedia.org/post/coal-liquids-plant-delayed
[xxiii] http://www.cnbc.com/id/25691699
[xxiv] http://wyomingpublicmedia.org/post/proposed-carbon-county-plant-seeks-air-permit
[xxv] http://deq.state.wy.us/isd/downloads/MBFP%20Decision%20&%20Order.pdf
[xxvi] http://deq.state.wy.us/out/downloads/MBFP_ISA_Permit_Application_09-17-07_Final.pdf
[xxvii] http://www.chron.com/news/article/PRN-Medicine-Bow-Fuel-Power-LLC-Announces-1629485.php
[xxviii] http://www.hcn.org/issues/334/16681
[xxix] http://news.archcoal.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=107109&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1360768&highlight
[xxx] http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/wyoming-may-get-coal-to-diesel-plant/article_701334c1-69fb-5850-87bb-f369c95dc6b2.html