Western Energy

Coal Train Photo by Tom Stanton

We made great progress this week at the Western Governors' Association meeting in Arizona. Our bipartisan group tackled water development, the Endangered Species Act and methamphetamine use, among other issues.

I chaired a session on energy, an issue we all know is vital to the future of Wyoming. We made some good headway. First, we redoubled our efforts to get the federal government on the same page as us on increasing electricity transmission in the West. Increased transmission is important because it will allow us to generate electricity here in Wyoming, where we can benefit from the good-paying jobs associated with production, and sell the electricity to consumers in other states.

Second, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and I renewed our commitment to building a clean-coal power plant in Wyoming and shipping that energy to California via the proposed Frontier Line across Wyoming, Utah and Nevada.

And third, we voted unanimously in favor of a resolution I sponsored with four other governors to encourage new and innovative ways to make and use energy. We pledged to develop an additional 30,000 megawatts of clean energy (enough to power 15 to 30 million homes) by 2015 and increase energy efficiency by 20 percent by 2020. I stressed that coal and natural gas will continue to be important energy sources, and our report calls for extended tax credits for new clean-coal technology.

Also, we developed strategies for managing water in the West in the face of increasing growth and drought, and called for amending the Endangered Species Act to place more emphasis on species recovery.

By a unanimous vote of the other governors, I was elected vice chairman of the Western Governors' Association. In this role I will continue to promote Wyoming's interests in energy, water development and wildlife management.

Gov Dave talks about energy progress made by Western governors. MP3 link
Gov Dave explains his call for changes in the Endangered Species Act. MP3 link

Click here for more on the Clean and Diversified Energy Advisory Committee report