In what could be the first step toward building a new coal-fired power plant in Gillette, Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon announced Monday that Basin Electric Power Cooperative will receive $4 million in state matching money through the Wyoming Energy Authority (WEA) to study building a second unit at the Dry Fork Station power plant.
Coal advocates describe the move as a pivotal moment for American energy.
"This is clear proof that coal is not dead and a reminder that Wyoming's strength has always come from our ability to innovate without abandoning our values," Gordon said. "The FEED study for an additional unit at the Dry Fork Station stands out as especially significant.
"It represents the first potential expansion of a coal-fired power station in our nation in many years."
FEED stands for Front-End Engineering Design, and it’s a comprehensive engineering study conducted before the construction of major industrial projects like power plants.
In this case, Basin Electric's FEED study will include technology selection.
The utility told Cowboy State Daily that means exploring new technology designed to increase efficiency and lower emissions.
"Basin has always really prided ourselves on pioneering new technologies,” said Basin Electric spokesperson Dana Hager. “And so the FEED study is not unusual for us. This definitely is signifying Basin's history."
This month, Basin Electric announced the Pioneer Generation Station Phase IV, the largest single-site electric generation project built in North Dakota in the past 40 years. Pioneer promises to generate 580 megawatts of electricity from natural gas.
For its Dry Fork Station, the emphasis will be on the latest coal-burning power generation technology, with Hager noting the study will take 12 to 16 months to complete.
"Nobody has built coal-fired generation in our country for over a decade," Hager said. "We have a tremendous facility in Wyoming, great employees. And so this is just a cost evaluation.
“When Dry Fork Station was originally built, it was designed with the possibility of adding a second unit in the future.”
Pro Coal Celebrates
Cyrus Western, a former state legislator from Sheridan, helped create the matching funds program in 2022 that is now getting directed toward potentially expanding Dry Fork Station.
Western is the regional administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency in Denver. He responded to news about the WEA’s decision to fund the study by saying it’s evidence of changing attitudes about the future of coal-fired electricity generation.
"I was proud to play a part of it (because) we wanted to take that money and to invest strategically in Wyoming, in our core industries," Western said. "We wanted to invest in Wyoming and to help create really high quality, reliable and affordable energy, and to create great middle class jobs along the way. I feel that this is just another chapter in that journey."
Western emphasized that creating the matching funds program was a deliberate strategic decision by the Legislature to resist national trends toward abandoning coal.
"When the whole world, when the media — whether it's The New York Times or the Washington Post or any of these big media publications — has been beating the drum about the death of coal for 20 years now, I'm really proud of Wyoming,” Western told Cowboy State Daily. “We believe that the media is wrong, that they are fundamentally missing really important parts of this discussion."
Western framed the potential project as a showcase for modern coal technology under the Trump administration.
"This is the Trump administration and the state of Wyoming planting a flag in the ground and sending the message that we can generate very reliable, very affordable power and protect the environment while doing so,” said Western, who oversees a six-state region for the EPA and 28 federally recognized tribes.
“With the advent of modern technology and modern engineering, these coal burning units can be incredibly efficient in generating power, and be extremely effective in reducing emissions,” he said.
Looking ahead, Western said his agency will play a key role if the project moves forward.
"Once they start to build a unit, once it gets powered up and running, they have to get their permits from the EPA. And so we would actually play an integral role in that process,” he said.
Impact For Gillette
“Absolutely wonderful,” is how Rusty Bell, CEO of Energy Capital Economic Development (ECED) in Gillette described the news about a second coal-fired power station coming to Dry Fork Station about 10 miles north of the city.
As the leader of a private nonprofit development organization, Bell pointed to job creation and the ability to meet growing industrial demand for electricity.
“We've had a lot of requests for large loads in this area. And power is a big deal,” he said.
Bell detailed the diverse interests driving industrial power demand in northeastern Wyoming.
Beyond data centers, Bell noted interest from manufacturers.
"We've had a couple different requests from ferroalloy companies," he said, explaining that these firms use coal and other minerals to fabricate ferroalloys used in steelmaking.
"That's normally something that happens in the Appalachia area, but we've had a couple different requests over the past year or two to look into something like that,” Bell said. "Those are exciting. They're large power users."
Rob Creager, executive director of the Wyoming Energy Authority, said the Dry Fork Station study announcement honors “Wyoming's legacy as a powerhouse in American energy” and “role as a national leader in shaping the future of energy."
Wyoming has remained at the forefront of coal-to-electricity technology development.
Earlier this year, PacifiCorp moved forward with oxy-combustion technology testing at the Dave Johnston Power Plant near Glenrock, exploring “emissions-free” coal burning.
The last coal-fired power plant to come online in the United States was the Sandy Creek Energy Station in Texas in 2013. The last one built in Wyoming was the first unit at Dry Fork Station, which came online in 2011.
David Madison can be reached at david@cowboystatedaily.com.
