Wyoming’s energy resources were in full focus on the Legislature’s Joint Appropriations Committee’s 14th day of budget hearings.
First up was the Wyoming State Geological Survey (WSGS). The agency said only 16% of the state is mapped to scale for mineral resources and geological hazards. Having accurate mapping helps companies and towns plan for future development and energy projects.
WSGS testified they are mapping more of the state every year, with new publications expected soon for the Medicine Bow Mountains. But more mapping takes money, and they’re expecting less funds from the federal government. The agency said they’ll narrow in on higher priority areas and smaller federally funded projects going forward.
The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) bucked a trend of agencies reporting they’re having trouble retaining workers. Director Todd Parfitt said his department’s job vacancy rate is at 5%, compared to 15% two years ago.
Parfitt credited a new program adopted in the Air Quality Division that offers more opportunities for employees to boost their salaries.
“It just kind of drives home the point that we need to always consider the salary adjustments when we can,” Parfitt said. “In the long run, I think it saves the state money.”
He said he’d like to adopt something similar for his employees working on uranium projects, where turnover remains high.
The Wyoming Energy Authority (WEA) didn’t ask the state for additional funds. Executive Director Rob Creager gave a general agency update focusing on both policy and incentive work.
Policy-wise, Creager said WEA has gone from “defense to offense” because of Pres. Trump’s directives, like the Unleashing American Energy executive order that aims to boost fossil fuel production. Creager highlighted the $100 million federal funds being allocated to reinvigorate old coal plants, and he’s hoping some of that money will come to Wyoming.
However, Wyoming’s Naughton coal plant fully switched to natural gas at the end of 2025.
Creager was recently appointed to the National Coal Council. Rep. John Bear (R-Gillette) specifically asked Creager to convey to D.C. stakeholders that “we are ready to build coal fired power plants, and provide the coal for those not just here in Wyoming but across the country.”
However, economists and analysts still project a downward decline in coal production and a continued shift to renewables and natural gas.
Creager spoke about WEA’s incentives. He first focused on the state’s Energy Matching Funds Program, which was created by the Legislature in 2022. Over a couple of appropriations, the fund had $155 million to divvy out to companies innovating energy solutions, like carbon capture retrofits on coal plants and a FEED study [Front-End Engineering Design] for building a new coal plant.
WEA has awarded funds to 27 projects, and said that a third-party review of those investments is expected to return $1.2 billion over the next decade.
The fund is down to its last $13 million, and is currently reviewing potential future recipients. The governor has the final say on which projects are selected, which has been a point of scrutiny by state lawmakers in recent years.
A similar, but separate, program is the Large Project Energy Matching Funds. The Legislature approved $100 million to create the fund in 2024. The entire pot of money was awarded to BWXT in December. The company is proposing a nuclear fuel manufacturing facility near Gillette.
WEA is not asking for more money for either energy matching fund. Bear asked Creager if lawmakers should be expecting a letter from the governor with a funding request, and Creager said, “Not that I'm aware of.” Without additional funding, the future of the programs are a bit in question.
Sen. Ogden Driscoll (R-Devils Tower) asked if this will hurt Wyoming’s ability to attract energy companies to the state. He pointed out that other states have similar energy incentive programs.
“If we get in a dollar to dollar war with a state like Texas, we’re gonna lose,” said Creager. “They’ve got more money than we do.”
Creager added that Wyoming’s partnership with companies and plentiful resources can give the state an edge. However, he said it didn’t work in the state’s favor for attracting a uranium conversion plant. Creager said there’s only one serving the U.S. market for the last 60 years and it’s nearing retirement.
“Whoever gets that new one will probably cover the market,” Creager said, adding WEA has been in talks with a company looking to do so. “They’ve been very frank with us that Texas has X amount on the table ready to roll. What do we have? We have more uranium up here, so that’s an advantage, but right now that’s not tipping the scales enough for them to make that move.”
Lawmakers adjourned the meeting about an hour and a half earlier than scheduled.
They’ll continue hearing from state agencies and departments on Friday, before turning their attention to drafting a budget bill next week.
