ROCK SPRINGS – Western Wyoming Community College will be soliciting bids for its brand-new substation technology program and its planned nuclear technology program following action by the college’s board of trustees Thursday evening.

The college will go out to bid for equipment for both programs, with bids expected to be available for trustee action in November. The nuclear technology program’s bids are to not exceed $1 million, while the substation technology program bids are not to be more than $500,000.

Both items were on the trustees’ consent agenda, which included accepting Wyoming Innovation Partnership grant funding, the purchase of a truck for the college’s CDL program, and acceptance of an employee contact in the CDL program. The Wyoming Innovation Partnership funds will primarily go to the nuclear technology program, representing $1.9 million of the total $2.1 million the college will receive. Other programs receiving those grant funds are the college’s programs focused on cybersecurity, software development, and electrical and instrumentation expansion. The Wyoming Innovation Partnership started in 2021 as an initiative to modernize the state’s efforts to build an economy that is resilient to the state’s historic boom and bust cycles.

The Wyoming Innovation Partnership has been a major supporter of Western’s recent work in offering new technical programs to students. The partnership was a contributor to Western’s lauded powerline technology program, providing $2 million to help launch it in 2022. The substation technology program launched at the start of the fall semester, while the nuclear technology is expected to start next fall.