WYOMING — U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) recently condemned the closure of coal fired power plants, but according to a new study Wyoming could benefit the most financially from renewable projects.
During a Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) hearing on March 29, Senator Lummis questioned if the EPA’s rule that is anticipated to close more than 14,000 megawatts generated by coal fired power plants was a premature decision. She expressed concern that it would compromise power reliability for Wyoming households and businesses.
“This administration must reverse course,” Senator Lummis said in the hearing, also pointing to the substantial job loss that would result from coal plants closing.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), in 2021 coal-fired power plants produced about 73 percent of Wyoming’s electricity net generation.
Yet, Dry Fork Station in Gillette, Wyoming, is the only coal plant in the country that costs less to operate than it would take to replace the plant’s output by building new wind or solar plants in the same area. While power plant owners prevent cost loss by increasing consumer prices, a report from Energy Innovation showed replacing coal plants with a mix of alternative energy could save consumers billions of dollars.
The potential for cost savings by closing coal plants could also develop wind, solar and energy storage that could match the 24/7 capabilities of coal and natural gas plants.
A new report by the Rocky Mountain Institute looking at federal benefits from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a law incentivizing renewable projects, determined Wyoming could net over $12,000 per resident by 2030. Most of the financial incentives from the IRA will be in the form of tax credits, which according to the study will keep billions of new investment dollars in-state and lower the federal tax burden of residents across states.
The EIA looks to Wyoming as a huge wind energy resource, with the amount of installed wind power-generating capacity in the state nearly doubling during 2020 and 2021. However, state and federal wildlife officials have brought up habitat disruption and bird-turbine collision mortality cost as downsides of in-state wind facilities.
To get the full financial benefits of the IRA, Wyoming would also have to support other climate friendly changes like driving electric vehicles. While Teton County has launched initiatives aimed at supporting electric vehicles, Wyoming legislation seems less inclined to encourage electric vehicle sales with recent discussions entertaining the idea of banning electric vehicle sales in the future.
Wyoming’s renewable energy program growth is still uncertain. Buckrail will continue to provide information on legislation relating to the current conversation as it becomes available.
