coal

Many of the coal seams that underlie much of northeast Wyoming’s ranchland caught fire after wildfires moved through the area last summer. They present several risks for landowners and the fire department.

Wyoming lawmakers fear financial fallout from federal breaks to coal.

Coal combustion residuals come in the form of coal ash, boiler slag and more. Industry and state leaders say Wyoming is better positioned to oversee its reuse and disposal than the EPA.

As northwest Colorado loses coal jobs and dollars, a small group is raising the possibility of nuclear waste storage as a replacement. Community leaders in coal country have mixed feelings about the idea.

The industry has slowed in recent years, undercut by natural gas and renewables. Pres. Trump said he’s granting “immediate relief” to an unspecified 47 companies operating 66 coal plants across the country.

As of Feb. 24, the governor endorsed 42 bills and allowed another three to become law without his signature.

Stakeholders are recognizing the need to adapt to changing energy markets, but complicated applications make it harder for them to earn federal funding.

President-elect Donald Trump campaigned on rolling back many of the climate-oriented, energy-transition policies of his predecessor. That’s led many of his supporters and the fossil fuel industry to celebrate and many environmentalists to panic. Yet amid these polarized reactions is a lot of uncertainty – especially in an energy-rich state like Wyoming University of Wyoming experts weigh in.

Coal has played a significant role in the United Kingdom – and British identity – since the Industrial Revolution. Coal first generated electricity in the country in the 1880s. It was the country’s largest bulk export until 1939. Even the word “smog” was coined in London for the hazy skyline coal power created. But now, the U.K. is the world’s first major economy to quit coal power, beating a climate-focused deadline the government set back in 2015.

The United Kingdom is the first major developed country to phase out coal power. Today is the first day no coal power plant is operating in the country. The British consul general for the northwest U.S. says Wyoming can learn from the U.K.’s transition away from coal.