Energy Reporter

David Madison

David Madison is an award-winning journalist and documentary producer based in Bozeman, Montana. He’s also reported for Wyoming PBS. He studied journalism at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and has worked at news outlets throughout Wyoming, Utah, Idaho and Montana.

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Latest from David Madison

A dragline moves coal at the Black Butte mine in Sweetwater County.

Expansion Speeds Up As Federal Regulators Accelerate Black Butte Mine Expansion

The Department of the Interior announced Tuesday it is accelerating a federal review of Black Butte Mine expansion in Sweetwater County, setting a 28-day timeline for completing an environmental impact statement that typically takes years to finish.

David MadisonAugust 13, 2025

The antelope coal mine in Wyoming's Powder River Basin, operatied by Navajo Transitional Energy Company.

Delegation, Gordon Cheer Trump Administration OK Of Wyoming Coal Mine Extension

The Trump administration has approved 14.5 million more tons of coal for the Antelope Mine in the Power River Basin. The Wyoming delegation and Gov. Gordon are applauding the decision, which extends the mine’s operations through 2037 and protects 359 full-time jobs.

David MadisonAugust 11, 2025

The EPA is considering clawing back $7 billion in federal grants for residential solar power, including $30 million for Wyoming. Some supporters say it’s wasteful spending, while opponents argue residential solar fits Trump’s goal to unleash energy.

EPA Planning To Rescind $7 Billion In Federal Solar Grants, Including $30M For Wyoming

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is drafting termination letters that would claw back $7 billion in Solar for All funding nationwide, including about $30 million designated for Wyoming.

David MadisonAugust 10, 2025

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act includes a 10% bonus tax credit for “nuclear communities” with significant nuclear-related employment. That won’t include Wyoming nuclear hubs like Kemmerer and Gillette because the act says the credit is for urban areas. In Kemmerer, Bill Gates-backed TerraPower is already working on its planned nuclear power plant.

Wyoming’s Emerging Nuclear Hubs Don't Qualify For ‘Nuclear Communities’ Tax Break

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act includes a tax credit for “nuclear communities” with significant nuclear-related employment. But, this doesn't include Wyoming nuclear hubs like Kemmerer and Gillette because the act says the credit is for urban areas.

David MadisonAugust 10, 2025

Powell, Wyoming, resident John Lea was fast asleep after working a graveyard shift when his trailer home caught fire. He may have burned up in the inferno if not for his chocolate Lab Belle, who woke him up just in time to escape the growing flames.

Chocolate Lab Named Belle Saves Wyoming Man From Burning Trailer

John Lea of Powell was fast asleep after working a graveyard shift when his trailer home caught fire last week. He likely would have died in the blaze if not for his chocolate Lab Belle, who woke him up just in time to escape the growing flames.

David MadisonAugust 09, 2025

Uranium Energy Corp.’s Irigaray plant in Powder River Basin. Thanks in part to recent fast-tracking by the Trump administration, UEC is poised to significantly expand its operations in Wyoming. (UEC)

Uranium Operation Is Wyoming’s First Fast-Tracked By Trump’s New Energy Rules

Uranium Energy Corp. is the first Wyoming uranium operation to be fast-tracked by the Trump administrations new permitting rules. The facility, 40 miles northwest of Rawlins, plans to go from semi-dormant to a leading U.S. producer in 12 months.

David MadisonAugust 09, 2025

A drilling rig operates in a natural gas field near Pinedale, Wyoming.

Southwest Wyoming Oil Patch Nearly Depleted After 100 Years Of Production

After a century of oil production, a new federal report finds only 3 million barrels of undiscovered oil left in southwest Wyoming’s Phosphoria Formation. Scientists are now shifting focus to the formation’s potential for critical minerals like phosphate.

David MadisonAugust 08, 2025

Air Force To Use Wyoming-Made Portable Nuclear Reactors To Power Bases

Microreactor manufacturer Radiant has signed a deal to deliver a mass-produced microreactor to power U.S. Air Force bases and promote energy independence. The company wants to make them in Natrona County, Wyoming.

David MadisonAugust 07, 2025

Kids On Speeding E-Bikes Making Jackson ‘Like A Literal Highway’

Before and after school in Jackson, traffic on pathways around town can play out like a scene from the apocalyptic road rage film “Mad Max” — if all the characters rode e-bikes. There are so many speeding e-bikes that the Town Council is concerned.

David MadisonAugust 05, 2025

A shovel fills a haul truck at the North Antelope Rochelle mine in northeast Wyoming.

Peabody’s Wyoming Mines A Bright Spot In Gloomy Outlook For Coal Giant

Peabody Energy reports a brutal first half of 2025, showing a net profit of $12 million, down 95% from $254 million in 2024. A bright spot is a huge turnaround for the Powder River Basin mines, which seem to have “outperformed” the rest of the PRB.

David MadisonAugust 04, 2025

TerraPower has begun construction on portions of its Kemmerer nuclear facility that don't require approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Wyoming Researcher Develops Earthquake-Proofing Tech For Nuclear Reactors

A University of Wyoming professor is developing what could be groundbreaking technology to protect nuclear reactors from earthquake damage. His system absorbs seismic threats and can be put around existing power plants.

David MadisonAugust 04, 2025

Record Beef Prices Has Aging Ranchers Selling Off Herds And Cashing Out

Record beef prices are reshaping the ranching landscape as aging ranchers weigh cashing out and selling off their herds. Others are holding on for another profitable year, creating the tightest ranch real estate market in decades.

David MadisonAugust 02, 2025

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Wyoming Legislators Advance Plan To Boost Oil Recovery, Reject CO2 Pipeline Pact

Wyoming legislators voted Wednesday to move forward with a $250 million plan to boost oil recovery using carbon dioxide injection. They also rejected a proposal for a regional CO2 pipeline compact with neighboring states and Canadian provinces.

David MadisonJuly 31, 2025

A marathon legislative hearing on the future of Wyoming's nuclear industry drew a standing room only crowd to the Thyra Thompson State Office Building in Casper on Wednesday.

Legislators Clash Over Proposed Bill That Would Allow Spent Nuclear Fuel In Wyoming

State legislators and Wyomingites clashed Wednesday over a proposed bill that would pave the way to build nuclear microreactors in the state. It also would allow the spent fuel to come back to Wyoming. After hours of testimony, the bill was tabled.

David MadisonJuly 31, 2025

Wyoming lawmakers weigh liability concerns as TerraPower lobbies for state legal protection for its armed security force at its nuclear power facility in Kemmerer. TerraPower says its guards’ training exceeds typical local law enforcement standards.

TerraPower Nuclear Security Force Could Get Legal Protection Under Wyoming Bill

Wyoming lawmakers weigh liability concerns as TerraPower lobbies for state legal protection for the armed security force at its nuclear power facility in Kemmerer. TerraPower says its guards’ training exceeds typical local law enforcement standards.

David MadisonJuly 30, 2025

David Bush, left, state government affairs manager with Black Hills Energy, testifies Tuesday about the potential repeal of carbon capture requirements in Wyoming.

Wyoming Won’t Repeal Carbon Capture Law As EPA Targets Key Climate Regulation

Wyoming lawmakers reject efforts Tuesday to repeal the state’s carbon capture mandate. At the same time, the EPA announced a major effort to roll back greenhouse gas regulations.

David MadisonJuly 29, 2025

Casper-based mining tech company DISA Technologies uses nozzles, similar to the one held here by Chief Operating Officer John Lee, to blast two jets of mineral-rich slurry at each other to separate critical minerals from ore.

Wyoming Mining Tech Company Sells Its First 100-Ton-Per-Hour Separation System

Casper-based DISA Technologies has made the first sale of its mineral separation system, which can handle 100 tons of ore an hour. In development for years, the proprietary system can extract minerals as well as be used to clean up abandoned uranium mines.

David MadisonJuly 29, 2025

Former Yellowstone Bus Driver Solves Mystery While Restoring 90-Year-Old Coach

Despite little evidence that the 90-year-old White 706 bus in David Swingle's driveway was a Yellowstone coach, he had a hunch it was authentic. He drove them back in the 1960s. Through tremendous amounts of sleuthing, he proved his hunch was right.

David MadisonJuly 27, 2025

The locals around Twin Bridges call it Charles Kurault’s infamous “Mistress Cabin,” and it’s now just off the fairway at a new golf course on the banks of the Big Hole River.

Wyoming Landowner Builds Golf Course Around Charles Kuralt’s ‘Mistress Cabin’

Buzz Warner, a former Wyoming Landowner of the Year, is close to opening his new golf course in Montana. It’s a monument to conservation that’s built around former owner Charles Kuralt’s infamous “Mistress Cabin.”

David MadisonJuly 27, 2025

Wyoming Counties Lobby Department Of Interior For More Input On Federal Lands

Campbell and Converse counties this week sent expansive letters to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum lobbying for more input on federal lands. But one Campbell County commissioner says he wouldn’t have signed off on his county’s letter given a do-over.

David MadisonJuly 24, 2025

Cyrus Western, EPA Region 8 administrator and a former Wyoming legislator from Sheridan, says the Trump administration's "pushing back on the war on coal" will help Wyoming.

Trump Pushes Back Against Closing Colorado Power Plant That Burns Wyoming Coal

Trump is challenging Colorado’s plan to shutter coal-fired power plants, showing a rift between federal and state priorities. It also could impact the Cowboy State because they burn Wyoming coal, says EPA Region 8 Administrator Cyrus Western.

David MadisonJuly 24, 2025

Low-Flying Aerial Surveys Over Wyoming Hunt For Mother Lode Of Rare Earths

Federal scientists are launching an ambitious mapping project to hunt for what could be a mother lode of rare earth elements in Wyoming and the Black Hills. Low-flying aircraft with sensors will look hundreds of feet below the surface.

David MadisonJuly 23, 2025

Stephanie Key, clarinet, Miika Gregg, violin, David Mollenauer, cello, along with Meaghan Heinrich, the festival’s education curator.

At Teton Raptor Center, Birds Are Encouraged To Chime In During Concerts

At the Teton Raptor Center in Wilson, Wyoming, visitors on Saturday were part of a unique marriage of music and wildlife. An avian-inspired concert of chamber music encouraged birds to chime in.

David MadisonJuly 20, 2025

Rider Brian Sweat from Driggs, Idaho, braces for 30 minutes of bone-rattling thrills.

Adrenaline Rush: New Record In Longest Downhill Mountain Bike Race In The Tetons

The Colter Cup is not just the longest downhill mountain bike race in the Tetons, it’s an insane adrenaline rush that pushes the stamina of racers. An 18-year-old from Victor, Idaho, set a new record in Saturday’s race.

David MadisonJuly 20, 2025

Hoback Canyon, where the Cow and Calf of the Woods avalanche chutes spill danger onto the highway below.

Cutting-Edge Avalanche Radar Planned For Wyoming’s Notorious Hoback Canyon

Hoback Canyon in northwest Wyoming is notorious for being avalanche-prone. It’s been selected to get a new cutting-edge avalanche radar system that can detect potential slides 24/7 in any weather. That promises faster road closures and safety for drivers.

David MadisonJuly 19, 2025

The Upper Green River, one place where the Upper Colorado River Basin begins.

Wyoming Irrigators Frustrated By Getting Shut Off Earlier In Colorado River Basin

Western Wyoming irrigators are frustrated after being shut off earlier than normal to send Colorado River Basin water downstream. State officials are holding public meetings to keep tabs on Wyoming’s share of the Colorado River.

David MadisonJuly 17, 2025

Federal Court Rejects Climate Change-Based Challenge To Wyoming Drilling Permits

A federal court on Tuesday rejected environmental groups’ effort to overturn thousands of oil and gas drilling permits in Wyoming and New Mexico. The court said they couldn’t show how drilling in Wyoming would directly impact polar bears in the Arctic.

David MadisonJuly 16, 2025

Cybersecurity specialists must figure out the significance of multiple objects and clues in an escape room exercise as part of ICS Cybersecurity Lab Training.

Small Army Of Cybersecurity Warriors Trains To Digitally Defend Energy Industry

As Wyoming aspires to be an energy powerhouse, a new generation of cybersecurity defenders is training in Wyoming and at the Idaho National Lab. As AI booms, so does the need to protect that critical infrastructure from digital threats.

David MadisonJuly 16, 2025

U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright was among a laundry list of state and federal officials at Ramaco's Brook Mine for a ribbon cutting for the first new rare earths mine to open in the U.S. in 70 years on Friday, July 11, 2025.

Energy Secretary Wright Says Wyoming Coal Is Still America’s Energy Future

Along with opening the first new rare earth mine in the U.S. in 70 years last week, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright says Wyoming is key to President Trump’s agenda. While on a decade-long downturn, he said Wyoming coal is America’s energy future.

David MadisonJuly 15, 2025

Opertions at the Spring Creek coal mine in Decker, Montana.

Montana Follows Wyoming In Push To End Biden-Era Coal Lease Rules

Following Wyoming’s lead, Montana’s congressional delegation is pushing to reverse Biden-era BLM rules that would end coal mining in the Powder River Basin.

David MadisonJuly 14, 2025