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[{"type":"text","text":"This may be the gloomiest weather forecast we've ever seen....."}]

Weather 12 3 25

Cowboy State Daily is Wyoming’s largest newspaper with Wyoming’s most experienced journalists. 

<title>Today In Weather: Wednesday, December 3, 2025 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

This may be the gloomiest weather forecast we've ever seen.....

Today In Weather: Wednesday, December 3, 2025

 This may be the gloomiest weather forecast we've ever seen.....

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

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

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

Clair McFarland

Government & Politics

Legislature

one of the most prominent members of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus, has a primary election opponent.

Doug Moore told Cowboy State Daily on Wednesday that he decided to challenge the Republican House District 31 

in this year’s Aug. 18 primary election after numerous 

Moore, 55, is a business owner and a transportation manager for two coal mining companies.

[{"type":"text","text":"Bear, 60, also owns local businesses and is a Navy veteran."}]

Both men are Republicans who live in Gillette

both tout strong favor toward the coal industry and conservative ideals. Each man is married and has grown children.

“I’m not looking to make a big name for myself,” he said. "I don’t see myself being a career politician that’s going to climb the ladder and end up in D.C. someday. 

"I’m a local kid that grew up here, and I want to make sure my community is taken care of — and Wyoming in general. That’s what’s important to me.”

Bear in his own Thursday interview countered that the rebuttal to those statements is, “the proof is in the pudding.”

“I’ve had opportunities to go for higher office and I’ve declined,” Bear added. "I’m already fighting for Wyoming, and have the most conservative record possible."

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Freedom Caucus"}]

The Wyoming Freedom Caucus is a populist-leaning group of Republicans in the state House that has backed property tax cuts, pro-life legislation, a reworking of the funding model for K-12 public schools and other measures.

The pro-life legislation is a mixed bag: those bills are generally popular among Freedom Caucus and non-Freedom Caucus Republicans. 

 the Legislature’s pro-life laws, while Gov. Mark Gordon has urged lawmakers to

 on the matter to voters instead of passing more bills.

Moore told Cowboy State Daily that he’s very conservative, but he will not join the Freedom Caucus because he believes the group’s members get directions from its national umbrella group, the State Freedom Caucus network.

Wyoming Freedom Caucus members discuss and coordinate their floor maneuvers via a group text with their Wyoming-based network director, 

Bear had inadvertently countered Moore’s point in a Thursday email about his bid for reelection, writing, “My family and friends are the primary reason I wish to serve the people of Campbell County.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"About Moore"}]

Moore is a licensed aviation mechanic, has an 

 degree in mining technology and has worked in the coal sector for 30 years. He was born in Michigan and moved to Wyoming with his family as a child in 1978.

[{"type":"text","text":"“I’ve got more Wyoming blood in me than anywhere else,” said Moore."}]

He said he’s a Republican because he’s conservative and doesn’t believe in high taxes or big government.

“I believe in keeping control at the lowest level of government,” said Moore.

 coal that could reinvigorate the waning industry, and said he wants to help the state guide new developments “responsibly.”

“I want to look at who wants to come (build a business in the community) and why, and make sure they’re not just looking for a lot of handouts,” said Moore.

Tech giants have been building multiple data centers in Wyoming in recent years.

With business booms come housing affordability issues, which is another concern Moore said he’d like to address, primarily by streamlining regulatory processes and “red tape.”

He said Wyoming should diversify its economy while also consider keeping more minerals for in-state use and the state’s own economy.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"About Bear"}]

a former Freedom Caucus chair and remains 

one of its most prominent voices — and one of its most powerful members.

He co-chairs the Joint Appropriations Committee, which writes the second draft of the state’s two-year budget. The governor writes the first draft, and the full Legislature writes the third and subsequent drafts until the budget becomes law in about March of every even-numbered year.

“I have been representing the hard working people of Gillette for three terms. I’m a Christian and veteran naval officer,” said Bear in a Thursday email. “I married my college sweetheart Sage. We raised two children in Gillette, and our daughter lives here with her family.”

Bear said families within his House district face inflation that cuts into their budgets every day.

“I am a proven conservative who has championed real solutions for working families,” wrote Bear, adding that, “I am the only conservative in this race.”

[{"type":"text","text":"He pointed to his work in helping to pass property tax relief bills."}]

“I firmly believe that those families know better how to spend their hard-earned money that the government does,” said Bear. “I will continue to work to limit the government's burden on families in Campbell County.”

During Bear’s chairmanship of the Appropriations Committee ahead of this past session, he was a 

During the session, Bear broke ranks to vote against several of his Freedom Caucus colleagues in opposing what he has called “corporate welfare” tax breaks or grants for large businesses.

Bear voted nay, for example, on the Energy Dominance Fund — a bill funneling severance taxes for one year into a grant and loan program to boost 

[{"type":"text","text":"Bear has lived in Wyoming for 20 years, he said. "}]

In his email he pointed to his work in passing a bill ensuring only 

citizens can vote in Wyoming, a 25% property tax cut, the elimination of most gun-free zones and a prohibition on red flag gun seizures, and pro-life bills.

“I’ve spoken to voters in House District 31 and will continue to answer questions and present my work for the people on social media, visiting at their doorsteps, as well as town halls throughout my time in office,” Bear said.

Bear and Doug Moore capitol 6 18 26

<title>John Bear, One Of The Freedom Caucus’ Most Powerful Members, Has A Challenger | Cowboy State Daily</title>

John Bear, one of the most powerful members of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus, has a GOP challenger for his Gillette House district. "I don’t see myself being a career politician,” said Doug Moore. “I am the only conservative in this race,” countered Bear.

John Bear, One Of The Freedom Caucus’ Most Powerful Members, Has A Challenger

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. 

"Highway Patrol doesn’t have any LPRs," said Germain. "We have no mechanism to purchase those or put them up." But the patrol's umbrella agency, the Wyoming Highway Patrol, manages the highway right-of-way and is responsible for authorizing camera installations, he said. 

The Select Committee on Tribal Relations, which is a state legislative panel,

discuss how state law interacts with the two tribal governments of Wyoming: the Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone

There, Germain said, “Those (cameras) are obviously helpful for a number of reasons, and you know I fully recognize some of the privacy concerns of with that."  For missing person cases or Amber alerts, those cameras “can be invaluable to help recover that person in a timely manner,” said German. “There aren’t a lot of cameras in Wyoming right now. If the reservation is able to put those up, it’s just another tool at the disposal of law enforcement.”

Committee Co-Chair Sen. Cale Case, R-Lander, voiced concern, calling the cameras a facet of “big surveillance.”

“It’s a big step in our surveillance society,” said Case. “Not quite as far as England where they have facial recognition all the way through London but … it feels that way a little bit.”

 the controversy surrounding the cameras. 

License plate readers are cameras, generally facing roadways, that capture images of vehicles and license 

 and log dates and times for those images. The devices can also capture images of drivers and occupants of vehicles and passersby.

Case amplified his comments in a Thursday interview, saying the license plate readers, government-accessible DNA databases, facial recognition technology and other government surveillance measures now in play would have been "appalling" to the Founding Fathers. 

"All this stuff is somewhat '1984'-ish," said Case, referring to George Orwell's dystopian novel about an authoritarian surveillance state. 

[{"type":"text","text":"This Drug Trafficking"}]

The cameras have been posted for "months" Wyoming Department of Transportation public relations specialist Cody Beers told Cowboy State Daily. 

An advocate of the license plate readers, Nicole Wagon touted them as useful and important during a Jan. 27 meeting of the Tribal Relations Committee. 

Wagon, who lost one daughter to murder and another to hypothermia amid suspicious circumstances, is an advocate for better safety measures for indigenous people.

“It’s a component to stop the violence. It’s a component to make it safe for all the community members,” said Wagon of the cameras, 

She said the Wind River Intertribal Council, which comprises executive-branch governments of both tribes, signed a resolution in 2024 to work with license plate reader efforts on the reservation.

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.”

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