Wyoming is on course to become the first state to build a new coal-fired power plant since 2013.
Rep. Scott Heiner, R-Green River, told Cowboy State Daily on Thursday that new legislation and a $10 million matching grant is paving the way for the construction of a game-changing coal-fired plant somewhere in Wyoming’s coal country.
A formal announcement is scheduled for sometime before mid-April, said Heiner.
"It's very exciting to see things finally moving forward,” said Heiner, offering general details about a project he’s been working on for the last three years.
Heiner said an existing Wyoming company will identify a location and complete the design and engineering phase with the help of state money.
This will attract foreign investment, said Heiner, who provided no details about the location other than it won’t be near Green River.
“It's not going to be in southwest Wyoming,” said Heiner. “There's no coal mines down there anymore. They're closing them all. I'm not working for my own district. I'm working for the state of Wyoming, helping to put the deal together.”
First Of Its Kind
The last coal-fired power plant to come online was the Sandy Creek Energy Station in Texas in 2013.
The last coal-fired plant to come online in Wyoming was Dry Fork Station in 2011, owned by Basin Electric Power Cooperative about 10 miles north of Gillette. That plant also is next to a Powder River Basin coal mine, the Dry Fork mine.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported in 2022 that around 25% of U.S. coal-fired plants were “scheduled to retire by 2029.”
The state of Wyoming is now working to reverse that trend, said Heiner, who has an engineering degree and worked in the oil and gas industry in Wyoming.
“The state of Wyoming is going to stand by the process, stand by efforts to continue utilizing and developing our natural resources,” said Heiner. “This could transform our coal industry.
"It's not a new concept and it’s utilized in other nations, but never in the United States. It'll put out as much power as some of our coal-fired power plants. It looks very viable.”
Plant, Not Power Plant?
Heiner, who is the House majority leader in the Wyoming Legislature, said plans for the new plant dovetail with some recently passed legislation.
Senate File 17 passed March 5 funds “an enhanced oil recovery stimulus for the use of carbon dioxide in enhanced oil recovery,” according to text in the bill.
“I'm not calling it a coal-fired power plant, I'm saying a coal-fired plant will produce the CO2 that will be utilized in oil fields to bring and revitalize them,” said Heiner, noting how the plant will produce electricity and CO2.
“We don't have enough CO2 available for these projects that are ongoing and trying to move forward,” said Heiner.
Big News For Wyoming Coal
A next-level coal plant that produces power and CO2 could be a game-changer for energy production and Wyoming’s declining coal industry, said Travis Deti, executive director for the Wyoming Mining Association.
“There’s really no reason why we can’t be a leader in the next generation of coal-fired plants,” he told Cowboy State Daily on Thursday.
“I think it’s huge. But there are a lot of bridges to cross,” said Deti, describing how the next-generation plants will be designed to turn CO2 into a commodity for use in industries like oil drilling “to get to that oil we can’t get to now.”
CO2 is pressurized and injected into existing oil wells to enhance the recovery of the oil that remains.
As for where this new coal-fired plant might be built, Deti said, “You’ve got your pick of the litter where you want to go in Wyoming. The options in Wyoming are plentiful.”
Wherever it gets built, “I think you can assume that it will be near a coal mine,” he said.
Wyoming Energy Authority’s Role
Rob Creager, executive director of the Wyoming Energy Authority, said the state’s Energy Matching Funds have supported all kinds of energy efforts, including the current Black Hills coal-to-hydrogen project.
“At the core of this program is the financial match component — these taxpayer dollars are designed to be leveraged for maximum capital investment in the state of Wyoming,” Creager told Cowboy State Daily in an email Thursday.
“We share the excitement and commitment to the state’s natural resources with Majority Floor Leader Heiner and look forward to working with him and any prospective company demonstrating a financial and steadfast commitment to the future of Wyoming coal.”
Contact David Madison at david@cowboystatedaily.com
David Madison can be reached at david@cowboystatedaily.com.
