🚧 Energy | Cowboy State Daily

Meier, Gray Believe Land Purchase In Washington Could Open Way For Coal Exports

In an effort to export Wyoming coal to the Pacific Rim, Treasurer Curt Meier and Secretary of State Chuck Gray believe purchasing land in Washington state could give Wyoming the legal standing to make it happen.

Renée JeanMarch 05, 2025

Nathan McLeland inspects a pumpjack on a stripper well in Weston County.

Wyoming Fights Biden Rule Some Say Tries To Price Out Oil And Gas Operators

Wyoming legislators have fought back against a Biden administration effort some say tries to price out oil and gas producers by hiking bond rates 1,400% and more. A $45 million pool of money will help those operators with their bonding.

Zakary Sonntag for Cowboy State DailyMarch 04, 2025

Trump Says US Needs To Double Or Triple ‘Electrical Capacity,’ Wyoming Says It’s Ready

President Donald Trump held his first cabinet meeting Wednesday and suggested the country must double or triple its “electrical capacity.” Wyoming energy officials say they are ready to help make that happen.

Renée JeanFebruary 27, 2025

The micro-nuclear plants Radiant Industries wants to build will weigh 60 tons, but be small enough to be transported by semitrailer or air. They'll produce 1 megawatt of power, enough for industrial use or to power a 750-home development.

House Committee Kills Bill To Store Radioactive Waste In Wyoming

A House committee rejected a proposal Wednesday to build small nuclear power plants. Assurances that the legislation would not bring radioactive “green slime” to Wyoming weren’t enough to convince committee members.

David MadisonFebruary 19, 2025

Virginia Company Scouting Wyoming For Spot To Build Uranium Fuel Plant

Virginia-based BWX Technologies is not just looking to deploy small micro nuclear reactors in Wyoming. It’s scouting the state for possible sites to build a uranium fuel plant.

Renée JeanFebruary 19, 2025

Wind turbines in Carbon County, Wyoming.

Despite Chilly Climate, It’s Business As Usual For Wind, Solar Energy In Wyoming

Wind and solar energy projects in Wyoming are moving ahead with their projects, despite the recent chill from both federal and state lawmakers. Most of the projects are on private property, project managers say, which helps de-risk the projects.

Renée JeanFebruary 09, 2025

Christine Meadowcroft and her children posing with their new solar panels

Wyoming Family Learns Solar Panels Aren’t For The Faint Of Heart

A Happy Valley family who lives near Cheyenne found out the hard way that solar panels aren’t for the faint of heart. They do work, and they do defray energy costs, but there are a lot of headaches that go along with it. It helps if you have the patience of a saint.

Renée JeanFebruary 09, 2025

USGS Using A Helicopter Hula Hoop To See What's Buried Under Southeast Wyoming

The United States Geological Survey has started flying helicopters between 100 to 200 feet above the ground with a giant electromagnetic sensor to identify water, minerals and metals buried up to 1,500 feet underground in southeast Wyoming.

Andrew RossiFebruary 07, 2025

Bill Gates was in Kemmerer in June 2024 for a ceremonial groundbreaking for the TerraPower Natrium nuclear plant.

TerraPower Nuclear Training Center In Kemmerer Will Be One-Of-A-Kind In The World

The 35,000-square-foot nuclear training center TerraPower is building in Kemmerer, Wyoming, will be the only one of its kind in the world. Plans are for it to train all the company’s nuclear techs wherever in the world their Natrium reactors are.

Renée JeanFebruary 04, 2025

If Cow Belches Are So Bad, Why Didn’t The U.S. West's 60M Bison Kill The Planet?

If cow belches and farts are so bad, why didn’t the vast herds of 60 million bison roaming the U.S. West before the 1880s kill the planet? The nonprofit Western Justice wants to know, but science suggests they’re not comparable.

Andrew RossiJanuary 29, 2025

Kemmerer Officials Hope TerraPower Deal Could Attract AI Data Center

As Bill Gates-backed TerraPower continues building a first-of-its-kind nuclear plant in Kemmerer, Wyoming, it has struck a deal with the nation’s largest independent data center provider. Local officials hope that could lead to an AI data center there.

Renée JeanJanuary 22, 2025

Gillette, Wyoming-based Cycline Drilling operates a rig in the Powder River Basin.

Wyoming's Powder River Basin Sitting On Untapped Oil And Gas Potential

The oil and gas industry has been talking up the potential of the Powder River Basin for 20 years. Even so, Wyoming’s busiest play still only has about 11 rigs running. It’s going to take more than an oil-friendly administration to increase production.

Renée JeanJanuary 14, 2025

A field of discarded wind turbine blades.

Feds OK Wyoming Idea To Use Old Wind Turbines To Fill In Coal Mines

Wyoming’s innovative plan to allow coal mines to accept wind turbine blades as fill material has cleared the Biden administration, almost four years after the state approved it.

Renée JeanJanuary 14, 2025

The Naughton Power Plant near in Kemmerer had been set for retirement 10 years after its conversion to natural gas, but now that end date for the plant has been nixed.

Rocky Mountain Power To Cancel Planned Retirements Of Its Wyoming Coal Plants

Rocky Mountain Power announced last week that it’s cancelling the retirements of its Wyoming coal-fired power plants. But that doesn’t mean they’ll be burning coal long into the future.

Leo WolfsonJanuary 09, 2025

Industry: Court Ruling BLM Illegally Halted Oil And Gas Lease Sales Is Too Late

A judge ruled Tuesday that the BLM illegally suspended a 2022 Wyoming oil and gas lease. While pleased with the decision, the governor and industry officials said Friday it’s too little, too late to reverse the damage done by the Biden administration.

Renée JeanJanuary 03, 2025

The Halleck Creek site in Wyoming, now called the Cowboy State Mine site.

Wyoming Project Gets Boost In Race To Be First For U.S. Rare Earths Production

What could be one of the world’s richest rare earths deposits announced Friday a partnership for a Wyoming pilot plant. It’s a boost for Wyoming to be first in the U.S. to help stand up domestic rare earths production sooner.

Renée JeanDecember 21, 2024

Cluster Of Wind Turbines Sitting Idle Outside Casper Won’t Turn Anytime Soon

A cluster of turbines sitting idle in the December winds outside Casper will remain idle into the next year. Chevron is citing “telemetry issues” with PacificCorp for why they’ve not been used for much of the past few years.

Dale KillingbeckDecember 20, 2024

The Jonah natural gas field south of Pinedale in a file photo.

Barrasso Says Targeting Gas Exports Act Of A “Bitter Administration On Its Way Out”

Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso doesn’t like a Tuesday U.S. Department of Energy report calling for fewer exports of liquified natural gas. He calls it “a biased study from a bitter administration on its way out the door.”

David MadisonDecember 19, 2024

Innovative Short Wind Turbines Are In For A Tough Test — Wyoming Winter

Airloom Energy will test its innovative wind turbines in winter — the perfect shakedown for an 80- to 100-foot-tall invention born in Wyoming. The novel Bill Gates-backed concept could make today’s 500-foot-tall wind towers obsolete.

Renée JeanDecember 18, 2024

A loaded coal train rolls past the Dry Fork Station power plant about 10 miles north of Gillette, Wyoming.

John Bear Thinks Micro Plants Could Help Wyoming Coal, Create Power Autonomy

State Rep. John Bear is promoting the development of micro coal-fired power plants to serve Wyoming communities across the state. It’s a concept he says could help stabilize coal, attract industry and create power autonomy.

Leo WolfsonDecember 17, 2024

Tata Chemicals trona mine and facility in Green River, Wyoming.

Wyoming Trona Mine Closer To Being Powered By 8 Tiny Nuclear Reactors

Tata Chemicals announced Friday that it has signed a new letter of intent for using up to eight nuclear microreactors to power its Green River trona operation. Tata is the first company in the U.S. to pursue small-scale industrial nuclear power.

Leo WolfsonDecember 13, 2024

Uranium Energy Corp. has bought Rio Tino's Wyoming assets, which includes its uranium production facility in Sweetwater County. Above is a view of the control room.

Uranium Energy Corp. Finalizes $175M Buyout Of Wyoming Processing Plant

Uranium Energy Corp. has finalized a $175 million buyout of Rio Tinto’s Wyoming assets, which includes its Sweetwater County processing plant. The sale gives Uranium Energy the nation’s largest production capacity of uranium.

Renée JeanDecember 09, 2024

Rare Element Resources has already started operations at its rare earths demonstration plant in Upton, Wyoming.

China’s Ban On Rare Earth Exports Good News For Huge Wyoming Projects

China issued a ban Tuesday on exporting to the U.S. critical rare earth minerals for semiconductors, infrared, fiber optics and military explosives. But representatives of Wyoming’s huge rare earths projects say the ban is good news for them.

Renée JeanDecember 04, 2024

The site about 20 miles southwest of Green River could produce 6 million tons of soda ash and sodium bicarbonate a year.

Turkish Company Offers $285 Million To Buy Interest In Huge Wyoming Trona Mine

Sisecam, a Turkish company, is offering $285 million to buy out a minority stake in one of Wyoming’s huge new trona mines.

Renée JeanDecember 02, 2024