Wise Exploring NanoTechnologies in New Coal-2-Energy Research Facility

Wise County is thinking small, really small - on the nano-scale. As new energy technologies emerge from the 21st Century, economic development officials are now planning a contemporary energy research facility called the Appalachia America Energy Research Center.

Strategic planners hope to locate the Appalachia America Energy Research Center at the the Lonesome Pine Regional Business and Technology Park near The University of Virginia's College at Wise before the end of the decade. The purpose of the new research facility will be to explore new concepts, ideas, and creations from new energy research using nanotechnologies, according to Carl Snodgrass, the economic development director for Wise County.

"The Center will bring together public and private sector expertise to plan, research, and implement strategies in coal gasification, use of nanotechnology for sulfur reductions in coal, and the use of nanotechnology as a catalyst to make existing forms of energy more efficient," the economic development planner noted. MORE to come at the Energy Technology Summit MONDAY!