One More For The Road

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<title>One More For The Road: Tuesday, April 9, 2024 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

One More For The Road: Tuesday, April 9, 2024

 Sometimes there's not enough time in the day to check on details, like if your vehicle has enough clearance....

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's business and tourism reporter, Renée Jean

Renée Jean

Energy

Wyoming has long prided itself on being an energy powerhouse, exporting far more electricity than its residents consume.

The state exports roughly 12 times more power than it uses, a fact regularly touted by data centers planning to build in Wyoming, who suggest their projects will help keep more of that power at home.

But beneath their hopeful rhetoric are a few hard-edged realities that haven’t been talked about as much. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Take Project Jade as just one example. "}]

The massive — or “hyperscale” —data center will come into Wyoming using an initial 2.7 gigawatts of power — roughly three times what the state uses now — and it can scale to 10 gigawatts. 

That’s almost as much power as Wyoming produces in total, according to the federal Energy Information Administration, whose most recent figures list net summer power generation capacity for Wyoming at 10.8 gigawatts in 2024.

Project Jade, meanwhile, isn’t the only large-load proposal in the queue. 

Meta, Related Digital, Microsoft — Cheyenne has 14 data centers that are either under construction or have entered definite planning stages, according to figures from Cheyenne LEADS. 

That makes grid consumption one ginormous elephant trying to squeeze into Wyoming’s electricity room. 

No one is yet sure just how to accommodate the unprecedented power needs of these data centers.

“It’s like comparing the Earth to Jupiter,” state Sen. Cale Case, R-Lander, told Cowboy State Daily. “It’s taken us over 100 years to grow the electric grid to where we are today. Over 100 years.”

Now state regulators, utilities and industrial consumers are scrambling to answer the same basic question. How can the electricity grid accommodate this kind of out-size growth without adversely affecting regular residential consumers?

For Wyoming Office of Consumer Advocate Director Anthony Ornelas, the concern isn’t abstract. 

He was blunt about saying that Wyoming’s grid is nowhere near ready to serve the kinds of loads now being contemplated. There’s nowhere that he sees as ready for a 10 gigawatt facility right now.

“I feel very confident in saying that … pretty much anywhere within the state, we are not yet able to handle that type of load growth,” Ornelas said. “It’s going to require new generation, and it’s going to require a substantial amount of high voltage or grid-level transmission build-out as well.”

So far there’s no consensus either on how to get there, even as multiple legislative committees grapple with the questions.

“It’s at the forefront of everyone’s minds,” Ornelas said. “It’s being discussed in the Corporations Committee, in the Minerals Committee, in the Revenue Committee and, I’m less involved, but also the Blockchain Committee.

"Over the past few years, there has been various types and forms of legislation intended to try to get a handle on this or address it … and I would just say there’s a lot of differing opinions depending on which interests are kind of advocating at the moment.”

The only clear consensus, so far, is that whatever solutions are adopted, they must hold regular residential consumers harmless.

Rocky Mountain Power representative Tom Carter told lawmakers during a June 4 Minerals Committee meeting that his company has been working on the problem the past several years. 

“We have conversations about legacy customers and their growth,” he said. “We have conversations around data centers and their growth and opportunities. We have conversations about growth through economic development.”

All of those are different types of loads with different types of challenges. 

For the last century, Rocky Mountain Power’s growth has been built around traditional, “zero-to-25-megawatt” customers, which range from residential consumers to small industrial users and shopping centers, which has grown at a flat rate of around 2 to 3%.

That kind of growth doesn’t trigger much investment due to the regulatory compact utilities operate under. It could mean a substation here or a short line there, nudging capacity forward as communities slowly grow. 

Hyperscale projects, meanwhile, are talking about loads that range from three to 10 times what Wyoming residents consume — a century’s worth of growth in one or two deals.

One problem with those loads, Carter said, is that they often appear speculative in nature.

“Maybe they don’t have an existing customer yet,” he said. “But they could potentially have an existing customer, whether it’s the hyperscaler space or in the economic development world.”

Regardless, there’s no existing revenue model for utilities to handle speculative loads.

“The question we have to ask ourselves, not just as a utility, but as a state, is who should carry the risk on a speculative load?” he said. “The utility does play a role in making this a reality, but we are not necessarily the driver in all economic development. 

"We have a role to play and we want to work with the state, and with this committee, and with our communities and with our customers on making sure these situations can and will move forward.”

Carter added he appreciates seeing what other parts of the state are doing, such as Cheyenne’s large-load tariff, but added that other parts of the state are different, and there “isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution.”

“Let’s try not to pigeon-hole a solution,” he said. “But let’s identify ways to allow for regions and industries and organizations to find the solution that works best for them.”

One Model: Cheyenne’s Large-Load Tariff

In Cheyenne, regulators and Black Hills Energy have been wrestling with the questions surrounding large-load data centers for more than a decade.

The utility partnered with Microsoft to develop a large-load tariff designed to ensure that data centers would pay 100% of the cost of serving them power, from infrastructure to the power itself.

“The tariff allows us to provide market energy and renewable energy options to data centers without impact on retail rates and creates a clear separation where the large customer is responsible for the costs associated with the new infrastructure needed to serve them,” Black Hills Energy told Cowboy State Daily in an email. 

“While our existing residential and small business customers remain insulated,” the company adds. "In addition to our LPCS tariff, we use service agreements, facilities agreements, deposits, and other negotiated commitments to manage the energy demands of large use customers and potential customers.”  

That approach has worked well so far to insulate regular consumers in Cheyenne from rate hikes.

“Black Hills Energy’s tariff is working somewhat,” Case said. “It’s hard to say it’s not. It’s brought some large loads onto the system. It’s had the blessing of the Public Service Commission.”

But none of those loads were as big as the proposed loads working their way to Cheyenne.

“Only Tallgrass is doing that kind of load now,” Case said, referencing the company developing Project Jade. “And it’s a ways from being operational.”

Ornelas agreed the tariff has so far done a good job of “isolating those we call hyperscale or data center type loads from the remaining customer base.”

“That includes any energy they purchase from the market,” he said. “It includes any generation capacity that they choose to build or contract to have built. It also includes any upgrades or new builds of transmission facilities to transport that power.”

But the solution hasn’t seemed to work for other parts of the state, Ornelas added, despite numerous attempts at legislation to help unlock the economic potential these types of developments offer.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Federal Solutions Needed?"}]

As Wyoming officials wrestle with how to handle the “Jupiter-sized” loads coming at the state, U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyoming, is pushing a federal fix she says is aimed at protecting grid reliability and ratepayers nationwide.

Lummis on Thursday introduced the POWER Up Act to “modernize rules for high-power grid connections, by creating “clear, uniform federal rules for how massive electricity users — anything with the load of a city like a large data center — connect to the interstate electrical transmission grid.”

Lummis’ bill would define the threshold of a large user as 100 megawatts or more. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) could adjust that figure if needed for grid reliability, the release added.

It would also let FERC handle these large loads, ensuring that data centers and advanced manufacturing facilities get the same “just and reasonable” standard that governs transmission services for power generation. 

FERC would have 18 months to issue a final rule setting standardized procedures for large-load interconnection, including hybrid facilities that pair on-site generation with grid-connected loads at a single point of interconnection.

The bill includes a carve-out for state authority, protecting state and local jurisdictions over siting, permitting, construction, retail rates, local distribution and generation.

“When a facility wants to draw as much power as a city, that is not an ordinary retail question. It is a grid question,” said Lummis. “Ratepayers need a clear process, informed by best practices, clear rules, and clear accountability. That is what this bill provides.”

America needs more power for data centers, Lummis added, as well as advanced manufacturing. It’s a matter of economic and national security. 

“The question is whether we handle that growth with clear rules and reliable planning, or with confusion and delay,” she said. “Massive demand is here, and America needs a framework that supports investment in our communities while protecting the grid and the people who rely on it every day.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Mixed Reaction In Wyoming"}]

Reaction in Wyoming to Lummis’ POWER Up Act was mixed. Some warned it would weaken state control, while others welcomed it as a needed framework for massive new power demands.

Case said the bill essentially “federalizes” large-load connections like those coming to Cheyenne. 

“This has implications,” he said. “FERC hasn’t always been the most timely agency to deal with. Large loads are 100 megawatts, so way below the scale talked about by the newest data centers.”

Open access, as required by the bill, meanwhile, will increase competition and could mean utilities aren’t supplying the energy — something Case anticipates utility companies will oppose.

Rocky Mountain Power told Cowboy State Daily by email that it hadn’t had a chance to fully review the proposal, but pointed out that 

Wyoming does have an established framework for large electric loads that is designed to protect reliability and existing customers.

“We look forward to seeing how this proposal complements what the state is doing,” the statement said.

Heather Madrid, who has been circulating a petition against data centers, said she saw the legislation as “good for most places,” but added her concerns are about things like land consumption and squeezing out other businesses, and housing impacts.

“(Data centers don’t generate foot traffic and they’re ugly, fenced-off warehouses,” she said. “It’s unattractive for retail, hospitality, tourism, outdoor recreation, etc.” 

She also lamented the sense that taxpayers and voters have lost their voice “because most of our elected leaders are representing the wealthiest people in the world instead of doing their jobs, which is to protect us from them, not the other way around.”

Cheyenne LEADS Executive Director Betsey Hale called the proposed legislation a “win-win-win-win.”

“(It’s) a win for large users, a win for rate payers, a win for communities, and a win for Wyoming energy,” she said. “Uniformity in regulations and predictability in process are critical for economic growth of all large load users and for protection of existing rate payers.”

Rep. Daniel Singh, R-Cheyenne, on the other hand, sees it as much-needed clarity.

“I’m very glad to see Sen. Lummis leading on this,” he said. “She understands Wyoming’s role as an energy powerhouse, and she has consistently been ahead of the curve on the intersection of energy, technology and federal policy.

Transmission bottlenecks are real, Singh added, especially when it comes to data centers, AI facilities and other large industrial loads coming online. Clearing that up just helps Wyoming, which he sees as the “mitochondria of America.”

“Wyoming is one of the great power-producing states in the country and we should be able to move Wyoming energy efficiently to major loads across the country,” he said. “That helps our producers, strengthens the grid, and keeps America competitive.”

Naughton substation 6 18 26

<title>Wyoming Wrestles With Unprecedented Power Demand From Massive Data Centers | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Data centers with huge power needs are lining up to plug into Wyoming’s power grid. Regulators, utilities and lawmakers are wrestling with how to serve “Jupiter-size” electric loads without spiking rates for regular consumers.

Wyoming Wrestles With Unprecedented Power Demand From Massive Data Centers

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's general assignment reporter, Clair McFarland.

Clair McFarland

Crime & Courts

Courts

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday held that marijuana use alone isn’t enough to let the federal government charge a person with a felony for possessing a gun.

A federal law known under its short statutory code of 922(g)(3) bars habitual users of unlawful drugs from knowingly possessing guns. People convicted under that law can face 15 years in prison and lose their carry rights for life.

In the case of a Texan with dual Pakistani-

citizenship, some marijuana in his house, an every-other-day habit of using, and a gun, the government can’t prosecute him without violating his Second Amendment rights, says the unanimous Thursday opinion 

The opinion upholds an earlier Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling and also dismisses the Trump administration’s arguments in defense of the drug-user gun ban.

[{"type":"text","text":"Wyoming is one of 10 states where marijuana remains illegal."}]

This opinion should matter to Wyomingites as well as any other American,

George Mocsary told Cowboy State Daily on Thursday.

“We should care here in Wyoming because the case is ultimately about whether government can take away a constitutional right, including one we care a lot about here, based on a broad label rather than proven dangerousness,” said Mocsary. “The court said it can’t.”

The case isn’t just about marijuana, but about the government’s ability to hinge one’s rights on its own broad characterizations of certain people as dangerous, added Mocsary, 

who is a professor of law at the University of Wyoming and founder and director of the UW Firearms Research Center.

He emphasized that guns are part of ordinary life in Wyoming, from self-defense to hunting, ranching, and protection in remote areas.

“Once the government can disarm people simply by declaring a category dangerous, the same reasoning could be invoked against other common conduct said to correlate with risk, including something as ordinary as repeated speeding,” he said.

Mocsary said the court preserved an important distinction: the government can regulate dangerous conduct, but not “simply convert broad public-safety concerns into categorical disarmament of peaceable citizens.”

In the unanimous opinion, Gorsuch wrote that the Trump administration’s arguments that the ban on marijuana users possessing guns is rooted in the nation’s historical gun-laws tradition is unpersuasive.

That’s a reference to recent case law saying the government has to justify gun restrictions as on par with the nation’s historical tradition.

The federal government had tried to show that the ban equates to historical laws exposing habitual drunkards to restrictions like guardianships, commitments, and tougher bond arrangements.

ted people who were so habitually drunk, they were “practically incapacitated” and couldn’t conduct their affairs. Those laws would also involve a pre-judgment test to determine if a person fit that description, Gorsuch countered.

For this case’s defendant Danial Hemani, “the government claimed Mr. Hemani faced up to 15 years in prison and disarmament for life,” since he had a gun in his home and admitted to using marijuana about every other day.

“As the government construes 922(g)(3) and seeks to apply it here, the law automatically bans an individual from possessing a gun from the moment he becomes an unlawful user of any controlled substance until he ceases being one,” wrote Gorsuch. "(In the government’s view) it doesn’t matter what controlled substance an individual uses, in what amounts he does so, or whether his drug use has ever made him a danger to himself or others. 

"It doesn’t even matter why he keeps a gun or how safely he does so.”

The opinion courses over the heavy drinking habits of many of the Founding Fathers, the increasingly permissive stance the federal government has taken toward marijuana over the past 13 years, and the logical lapse between the government’s Controlled Substances Act and drug-user gun ban.

The Controlled Substances Act was passed to protect Americans’ “health and general welfare,” so some of its various drug categories can have “little or nothing to do with (drugs’) potential to induce violence.”

That severs the gun possession ban’s reliance on the Controlled Substances Act from a presumption that banned drugs make all users dangerous, the opinion notes.

Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a concurring opinion to say that a federal ban on gun possession isn’t justified under the Constitution’s Commerce Clause, because merely possessing a gun isn’t the same as sending or receiving one through interstate commerce.

Justice Ketanji Brown-Jackson wrote and Justice Sonia Sotomayor joined their own concurrence, agreeing with the outcome of the case but disputing the newer, more permissive gun-rights test the majority used to reach it.

Pot smoker and supreme court 6 18 26

<title>Firearms Expert Says Supreme Court Marijuana Case Important For Wyoming Gun Owners | Cowboy State Daily</title>

George Mocsary, a firearms law expert, says the U.S. Supreme Court's Thursday opinion upholding a marijuana user's right to keep a gun is important for Wyoming. "The case is ultimately about whether government can take away a constitutional right," he said.

Firearms Expert Says Supreme Court Marijuana Case Important For Wyoming Gun Owners

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily political columnist, Rod Miller.

Rod Miller

Opinion

CSD Columnists

Wyoming gubernatorial candidate Eric Barlow proposed an idea the other day that resonated with me, and it’s worthy of your consideration. 

Speaking to the Wyoming Association of Municipalities, Barlow suggested establishing satellite offices around the state wherein representatives of the governor's office would be available to interact with Wyoming citizens daily.

I like the notion of dispersing the executive presence of the governor outside the confines of Cheyenne, and making the governor’s eyes and ears more accessible to folks who live in our “small town with unusually long streets." 

If this can be done with no net gain in government bureaucracy or expense, emphasis on “no net gain,” it’s a great idea, and would make our entire state feel more like our Capitol.

I first heard that “small town, long streets” description of Wyoming from my old boss, former governor, Mike Sullivan. And it was Sullivan who took steps to shorten those streets with his Capitol for a Day initiative. 

Once a month, Gov. Sullivan assembled key staff and department heads, traveled to a far-flung town, and set up shop to talk with and listen to local folks. Sleeves were rolled up, ties loosened, and government did business with the governed on their own turf.

I called Gov. Sullivan to get his thoughts on what worked and didn’t work with Capitol for a Day. 

Sullivan remembered how happy folks in our remote towns were to have their governor visit. High school bands greeted the governor’s caravan at the edge of town or the airport. 

Local dignitaries showed up to shake n’ howdy and get their photos taken with the chief executive of Wyoming. Everyone was proud to show off their town, and gave the visiting bigwigs from Cheyenne the grand tour of local high points.

Ribbons were cut, babies were kissed, and then everyone got down to business. 

Sullivan recalled that citizens who lived too far away or were too busy in their daily lives to come to Cheyenne weren’t at all shy about bending the ears of visiting officials about local issues and problems. 

[{"type":"text","text":"The conversations were substantive and constructive."}]

He opined that the only thing that didn’t work about the initiative was the weather when, a time or two, blizzards closed the roads and airports.

I then called another former governor, Dave Fruedenthal, because I recalled he had a similar program. 

Dave graciously took a break from yard work to tell me that my memory isn’t slipping. He regularly traveled the state with cabinet members, and met similar reactions from local folks, and had similar results. 

Freudenthal reminded me that both Ed Herschler and Stan Hathaway had dipped their gubernatorial toes into the same “take government to the people” waters with their own official road trips.

Much has changed in Wyoming since those former governors occupied that office on Capitol Avenue in Cheyenne. But one thing that hasn’t changed is the number of miles between that office and folks in Lusk or Pinedale. 

So I applaud candidate Barlow for proposing to do something about that. It’s just Cowboy as hell.

Wyoming still bears strong sense of neighborhood, despite our small population and the wide-open spaces that separate us. 

Perhaps there is no state in our republic where bringing government closer to the people is still possible, other than right here.

Our small population makes it possible for our governor to get up from his desk and meet his fellow citizens around their own kitchen tables and hear their ideas. 

[{"type":"text","text":"Nothing says grassroots government more clearly than that."}]

Whoever is our next governor will have the chance to assemble his or her own staff, and to place them where they’ll do the most good. 

We already have plenty of state-owned buildings scattered around Wyoming, so no new capital construction should be necessary. 

A few good outriders can be sent to the distant ranges of Wyoming to rep the brand without adding to the taxpayers’ burden.

But that shouldn’t relieve our new governor of the responsibility to show up in person for meaningful face time with the citizens. 

A dispersed staff could handle those logistics, freeing the governor to kiss the local babies, and get an earful from the folks.

Our history confirms that a program like that will be successful, and will shorten the distance between our citizens and their Capitol.

Rod Miller can be reached at: RodsMillerWyo@yahoo.com

Rod miller headshot scaled

<title>Rod Miller: Make The Whole State Of Wyoming Our Capitol | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Columnist Rod Miller writes, "Wyoming gubernatorial candidate Eric Barlow proposed an idea the other day that resonated with me, and it’s worthy of your consideration. It's cowboy as hell."

Rod Miller: Make The Whole State Of Wyoming Our Capitol

Coy Knobel

Don Day Weather

Mostly sunny to sunny in Wyoming on Friday. Partly to mostly cloudy overnight. Highs from the low 70s to upper 80s. Lows in the 40s and 50s.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":" "}]

Mostly sunny today with a high near 82 and partly cloudy and breezy overnight with a low near 53 and wind gusts as high as 29 mph.

Sunny today with a high near 85 and increasing clouds overnight with a low near 55.

 Sunny today with a high near 84 and mostly cloudy overnight with a low near 50 and wind gusts as high as 23 mph.

 Sunny today with a high near 84 and partly cloudy overnight with a low near 53.

  Sunny today with a high near 87 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph. Mostly cloudy overnight with a low near 53 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph.

Sunny today with a high near 88 and mostly cloudy overnight with a low near 55.

Gradually becoming sunny today with a high near 81 and wind gusts as high as 22 mph. Mostly cloudy overnight with a low near 46 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph.

 Mostly sunny today with a high near 84 and mostly cloudy overnight with a low near 49.

  Sunny and breezy today with a high near 83 and wind gusts as high as 23 mph. Increasing clouds overnight with a low near 50 and wind gusts as high as 20 mph.

 Sunny today with a high near 77 and wind gusts as high as 22 mph. Mostly cloudy overnight with a low near 46 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph.

  Mostly sunny today with a high near 86 and wind gusts as high as 20 mph. Increasing clouds overnight with a low near 49.

Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park

:  Mostly sunny today with a high near 77 and mostly cloudy overnight with a low near 42.

:  Sunny today with a high near 77 and increasing clouds overnight with a low near 53.

  Mostly sunny today with a high near 82 and mostly cloudy overnight with a low near 53.

  Mostly sunny today with a high near 73 and partly cloudy overnight with a low near 52.

  Mostly sunny today with a high near 76 and mostly cloudy overnight with a low near 48.

:  Mostly sunny today with a high near 72 and partly cloudy overnight with a low near 49.

Sunny today with a high near 75 and wind gusts as high as 16 mph. Partly cloudy overnight with a low near 50 and wind gusts as high as 26 mph.

  Increasing clouds today with a high near 76 and wind gusts as high as 17 mph. Partly cloudy overnight with a low near 54 and wind gusts as high as 22 mph.

:  Mostly sunny today with a high near 69 and wind gusts as high as 16 mph. Gradually becoming mostly clear overnight with a slight chance of rain after midnight, a low near 49 and wind gusts as high as 17 mph.

  Sunny today with a high near 84 and increasing clouds overnight with a low near 59.

  Sunny today with a high near 82 and increasing clouds overnight with a low near 57.

  Sunny today with a high near 83 and increasing clouds overnight with a low near 57.

  Mostly sunny and breezy today with a high near 79 and wind gusts as high as 30 mph. Increasing clouds overnight with a low near 53.

  Mostly sunny today with a high near 79 and partly cloudy and breezy overnight with a low near 50 and wind gusts as high as 30 mph.

  Sunny and breezy today with a high near 82 and wind from 10-20 mph. Increasing clouds overnight with a low near 54.

  Sunny today with a high near 82 and mostly cloudy overnight with a low near 54.

  Mostly sunny today with a high near 82 and partly cloudy overnight with a low near 53.

  Sunny today with a high near 88 and mostly cloudy overnight with a low near 51.

Daycap 6 19 26

<title>Don Day's Wyoming Weather Forecast: Friday, June 19, 2026 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Don Day's Wyoming Weather Forecast: Friday, June 19, 2026

Government & Politics

Politics

A federal agency has an agreement with Wyoming's two tribes to run license plate reader cameras on the reservation, authorities confirmed Thursday. 

Cowboy State Daily has observed license plate reader cameras already installed on roadside posts at the north entrance to the reservation abutting Riverton, and the south entrance from the Lander side.

The license plate readers are put up by DEA (the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration) through an agreement with the tribe, said U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs spokesman Joshua Barnett in a Thursday email. Barnett added that the BIA is "not part of that agreement." 

Wyoming Highway Patrol (WHP) Lt. Col. Karl Germain told lawmakers during a Tuesday committee meeting that the WHP was working with the BIA to put up the cameras. 

But Germain clarified in a Thursday phone call, saying he misspoke and was trying to highlight the cameras can be a good tool in crisis situations. 

The Drug Enforcement Administration has installed license plate cameras on or around the Wind River Reservation, authorities confirmed Thursday. "All this stuff is somewhat '1984'-ish," Sen. Cale Case said. "It’s a big step in our surveillance society.”

One More For The Road: Tuesday, April 9, 2024

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