FEATURE ARTICLES

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Wyoming’s Share of Federal Coal Lease Sales
Surpass $2 Billion

Thanks to Arch Coal’s successful $300 million bid in the Powder River Basin earlier this month,the state’s share of lease revenue jumped to $2.08 billion. What’s more, the lease of the federally-owned coal by an Arch subsidiary came out to $1.35 per mineable ton, a new state record.

29Dec2011 | admin | 0 comments | Continued
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Coal Extraction Poses Climate Challenge for Obama Administration

Since taking office nearly three years ago, it has restricted coal-mining waste from being dumped into streams and imposed new pollution controls on coal-fired power plants. But on the fundamental question of whether the government should halt federal leasing, Obama’s answer has been: not yet.

26Dec2011 | admin | 0 comments | Continued
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Mid-Week News Tracker

DKRW Advanced Fuels has asked Wyoming to purchase up to $300 million in industrial development bonds to help finance the $2 billion project … in the meantime, a joint venture has led to the purchase of the $3.5 billion Zephyr power line project, which is expected to move energy 950 miles from southeast Wyoming to Nevada for customers in the Southwest.

21Dec2011 | admin | 0 comments | Continued
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Groups Urge Denial of Flaming Gorge
Pipeline Permit

The pipeline would be far too expensive and would harm the Green River’s world-class recreation and tourism economies, businesses and river advocates said Monday. They urged the FERC to deny a private developer’s preliminary permit application for the massive
water project.

20Dec2011 | admin | 0 comments | Continued
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A Cleantech Venture Capitalist Who is Unconvinced of Man-Made Climate Change

Go ahead — call me a hypocrite. I claim to be a cleantech venture capitalist yet I tell you here and now that I am not convinced of anthropogenic (human-caused) climate change (aka global warming). And I will audaciously tell you that my convictions on climate change in no way run contrary to my strong belief in the need for a cleantech revolution.

19Dec2011 | admin | 0 comments | Continued
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300-MW Wind Farm Proposed for Belvoir Ranch Near Cheyenne

Morley Company CEO Bruce Morley said that Cheyenne won’t be required to invest any money into the project, and that the wind farm will benefit the city greatly. According to the CEO, the city of Cheyenne could make $72 million to $130 million by leasing land for the wind farm to Morley.

18Dec2011 | admin | 0 comments | Continued
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Vestas Urges Extension of U.S. Production Tax Credit to Preserve Thousands Of American Jobs

“An extension of the PTC is necessary for the continued employment of the 80,000 people working in the U.S. wind industry,” said Wyrsch, who leads the North American arm of Vestas Wind Systems, which has several manufacturing plants in Colorado.

15Dec2011 | admin | 0 comments | Continued
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Encana Slams EPA Over ‘Not Factual’
Pavillion Draft Report

In a detailed press release to media, the energy company noted that many of the EPA’s findings from its recent deep monitoring wells, including those related to any potential connection between fracking and Pavillion groundwater quality, “are conjecture, not factual, and only serve to trigger undue alarm.”

13Dec2011 | admin | 0 comments | Continued
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Environmentalists Renew Attack on Wyoming Coal That Fuels Plant

Their effort is directed at the potential expansion of a mine served by both the Union Pacific and BNSF Railway, and from which comes fuel for the Laramie River Station, a generating plant that is owned in part by Lincoln Electric System.

12Dec2011 | admin | 0 comments | Continued
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EPA Draft Links Fracking, Groundwater Contamination in Pavillion

The finding set off calls for tighter rules on the fracking process. But Governor Mead called for more research, warning the EPA study could have “a critical impact on the energy industry and the country. He called the draft study
as “scientifically questionable,” and said more testing
is needed.

9Dec2011 | admin | 0 comments | Continued
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Wyoming Wind Tower Plant Delayed Until
Next Year

The uncertainity over federal subsidies to the wind energy industry is why plans to build a $40 million plant near Cheyenne that would produce towers for wind turbines have been delayed, according to industry observers.

6Dec2011 | admin | 0 comments | Continued
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Three Wyoming Wind Projects Getting BLM
Fast Tracking

They include the 1,000-turbine Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Wind Energy project south of Rawlin; the 25-turbine Sand Hills Farm Project northwest of Laramie and the White Mountain project near Rock Springs.

2Dec2011 | admin | 0 comments | Continued
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Wyoming Gained Manufacturing Jobs Over
Past Year

MNI reports oil and gas extraction remains Wyoming’s largest industrial sector by employment with 9,535 jobs, up 2.2% over the year. Coal mining ranks second and accounts for 6,403 jobs, up 8.4%.

30Nov2011 | admin | 0 comments | Continued
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Can Wyoming Put Its Mouth Where Its
Money Is?

Coal — one of Wyoming’s powerhouse economic drivers — is likely to continue to lose its share of the U.S. utility market to natural gas due in large part to huge operational successes in tapping shale gas reserves, a phenomenon that has changed geopolitics and the world energy picture.

30Nov2011 | admin | 0 comments | Continued