How much coal is left to mine in Wyoming and who wants to buy it? Those are a couple of the foundational questions the Wyoming Energy Authority is tackling with a new in-depth study.
The bidding by research firms closed last week and Kyle Wendtland, the WEA’s director of fossil fuel development, told Cowboy State Daily, “We’re looking to award this contract by May 1.”
“To this level, it's never been done,” said Wendtland. “There's been pieces of it done. There's been a look at the demand markets. There's been a look at the export markets. There's never been a single comprehensive study that's looked at supply, demand, export, regulatory, capital, issues across the board.”
The RFP issued in March called for bids on a “comprehensive Wyoming coal resource study,” according to a notice from the WEA.
WEA stated the study aims to assess Wyoming's coal reserves in the Powder River and Green River Basins while analyzing thermal coal demand markets and gauging investment interest in new coal-fired power plants across the U.S.
The research will evaluate leasing requirements for stable coal supply and explore export growth potential, including necessary infrastructure improvements and realistic timeframes for permitting and construction processes.
The study will identify key regulatory constraints affecting the entire coal value chain — from leasing and permitting to mining, utilization, and exportation of Wyoming's coal resources. It will also assess the “viability of High Efficiency Low Emission (HELE) and Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (CCUS) technologies,” according to the WEA.
Based on its findings, said the WEA, the study will deliver targeted recommendations for regulatory and policy reforms designed to maintain viability in thermal coal supply and demand markets.
“I think it's fair to say that this is the role of the WEA is to assemble this type of data or those types of information so that we have a comprehensive study and that's current for our policymakers to look at and use going forward,” said Wendtland, who declined to answer questions about how many bids came in, how much the WEA expects to spend on the study and whether or not any Wyoming research firms are in the running.
Work on the study could begin as early as May 9 and be completed by November or December this year.
Research Mounts
Officials at the University of Wyoming’s School of Energy Resources welcomed news about the WEA coal industry study moving forward.
“We have done a similar study here that the WEA study can build on, which was recently released by our Center for Energy Regulation and Policy Analysis,” said Christine Reed, director of outreach at UW’s Energy Innovation Center.
The 2025 Issue Snapshot from UW's Center for Energy Regulation and Policy Analysis examines the declining demand for Wyoming coal. Wyoming has been the leading U.S. coal producer since 1986, with production peaking in 2008 and steadily declining thereafter.
The analysis suggests this decline is primarily linked to decreased coal-derived electricity generation in the states that import Wyoming coal, with about 92.4% of Wyoming's coal being exported to other states between 2009 and 2023.
The report identifies key factors driving this decline: the increasing cost-competitiveness of alternative electricity sources — particularly natural gas and renewables — plus, the adoption of emission reduction targets and electricity portfolio standards by coal-importing states.
In the end, researchers concluded, “Despite ongoing efforts to mitigate the decline of Wyoming coal production – such as the adoption of favorable state policy, legal challenges of federal regulations, investment in carbon capture, utilization, and storage, and the research of alternative uses of coal – these measures have yet to prove effective on the forces dictating the energy markets to which Wyoming is beholden.”
Those markets will again fall under the microscope of industry researchers when WEA awards the study contract at the end of the week.
“I think the WEA-funded study will build on things that we couldn’t do,” Holly Krutka, executive director of the School of Energy Resources, told Cowboy State Daily. “For example, we didn’t include realistic costs for new-build coal power plants because the EIA (Energy Information Administration) only had info for ultra-supercritical plants, which I don’t expect will ever be built in Wyoming.
“Hopefully the WEA work can build on what we did but give the state even more detail to work with.”
What’s New In Montana
While not funding a comprehensive study like Wyoming, Montana’s utilities and policymakers are watching the coal industry reshape itself day by day in the northern reaches of the Powder River Basin.
That’s where the Colstrip Power Plant, on course to be operated by NorthWestern Energy, is ramping up coal-fired energy generation thanks to regulatory changes by the Trump Administration and clean energy initiatives in Washington state.
“Washington state law says they can no longer serve their customers there with energy generated by coal plants,” NorthWestern Energy spokesperson Jo Dee Black told Cowboy State Daily.
That’s why starting Jan. 1, NorthWestern Energy will own 55% of the Colstrip plant.
“Majority ownership allows NorthWestern Energy to effectively guide investments in operation and maintenance of the Colstrip Plant, ensuring the plant continues to provide on-demand, 24/7 cost-effective generation for our Montana customers,” NorthWestern said in a statement announcing its increased reliance on the Colstrip Plant and Powder River Basin coal.
The announcement came with a caveat, that the utility would rely on Colstrip, “Until viable, equivalent, carbon-free energy resources are commercially available.”
Black also told Cowboy State Daily the Colstrip Plant supplies much of the electricity powering Yellowstone National Park. It will benefit from the recent Trump Administration executive order exempting Colstrip and nearly 50 other coal plants from Biden-era Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS), extending the compliance deadline to July 2029.
The exemption provides a two-year relief period under less stringent MATS rules, allowing owners to evaluate compliance options while avoiding immediate closures or $350 million to $600 million in upgrades, according to NorthWestern Energy.
“With coal in our energy portfolio, we can stabilize our energy grid and reduce costs for consumers,” Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte said in an April 15 statement to the press. “In Montana, we’ll continue to support an all-of-the-above approach to energy to keep the lights on across the region.”
Colstrip is one of nearly 50 plants identified by the EPA that qualify for the two-year exemption under a proclamation signed by President Trump on April 8.
David Madison can be reached at david@cowboystatedaily.com.
