• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Subscribe
  • Donate

WyoFile

Indepth News about Wyoming People, Places & Policy. Wyoming news.

  • Latest News
    • Education
    • Energy
    • Legislature
    • Native America
    • Natural Resources
    • People
    • Photo Friday
    • Places
    • Policy
  • Voices
    • Drake’s Take
    • Madden’s Measure
    • Guest Column
    • Studio Wyoming Review
  • Supporters
    • Membership
    • Underwriting
    • Foundations
  • COVID-19
  • Latest News
    • Education
    • Energy
    • Legislature
    • Native America
    • Natural Resources
    • People
    • Photo Friday
    • Places
    • Policy
  • Voices
    • Drake’s Take
    • Madden’s Measure
    • Guest Column
    • Studio Wyoming Review
  • Supporters
    • Membership
    • Underwriting
    • Foundations
  • COVID-19

Wyoming 2012 coal production slides

January 3, 2013 by Dustin Bleizeffer Leave a Comment

Tweet
Share
Pin
Email
0 Shares
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

WyoFile Energy Report

Wyoming 2012 coal production slides

Wyoming’s annual coal production may have slipped below 400 million tons for the first time in seven years.

According to U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) data, Wyoming was on track to produce approximately 398 million tons in 2012, which would represent a 9 percent slide from 2011 production. (Final production figures for 2012 will be available in a few weeks.)

Dustin Bleizeffer

It’s a serious economic and psychological thumping in a state that had set a new coal production record every year for nearly 20 years. Coal is the second largest source of revenue in Wyoming and contributed $1.13 billion to state and local governments in 2011, according to the Wyoming Mining Association.

The biggest factor behind declining U.S. coal demand is the cheap, flush supply of new domestic natural gas — an obvious alternative for utilities. Particularly public utilities that are required to justify their fuel costs. Plentiful and cheap natural gas — along with an onslaught of tougher federal regulations from the mining stages to the smokestack — are the reasons why coal has gone from supplying 51 percent of America’s base-load electrical capacity to just 43 percent in a matter of seven years, according to EIA.

If declining U.S. demand for coal the new normal, it could spell trouble for Wyoming. There is panic among Wyoming’s top elected officials, and in Campbell County. And you might expect there is panic among Wyoming coal producers. You might expect that declining demand in their core market — U.S. utilities — is nudging the coal industry toward the negotiating table for an American energy and climate policy.

But you would be wrong.

Check back later for full analysis on why Powder River Basin producers aren’t exactly sweating the decline — yet.

— Dustin Bleizeffer is WyoFile editor-in-chief. Reach him at 307-577-6069 or [email protected]. Follow Dustin on Twitter @DBleizeffer.

If you enjoyed this report and would like to see more quality Wyoming journalism, please consider supporting WyoFile: a non-partisan, non-profit news organization dedicated to in-depth reporting on Wyoming’s people, places and policy.

REPUBLISH THIS REPORT: For details on how you can republish this report or other WyoFile content for free, click here.


Popular Articles:


Trump lifts coal leasing moratorium


Obama admin bans drilling on 40,000 Bridger-Teton acres


Judge: Pavillion fracking contamination case can go to trial


Filed Under: Energy Report, Power to the People

Dustin Bleizeffer

About Dustin Bleizeffer

Dustin Bleizeffer has worked as a coal miner, an oilfield mechanic, and for 20 years as a statewide reporter and editor primarily covering the energy industry in Wyoming. Most recently he was Communications Director at the Wyoming Outdoor Council, a John S. Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford, and WyoFile editor-in-chief. He lives in Casper. You can reach him at (307) 267-3327, [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @DBleizeffer.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Want to join the discussion? Fantastic, here are the ground rules:
- Identify yourself with full name and city. WyoFile stands behind everything we publish and expects commenters to do the same.
- No personal attacks, profanity, discriminatory language or threats. Keep it clean, civil and on topic.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Tweets by @WyoFile

Search WyoFile

Become an Underwriter
Sign Up for Free Weekly Newsletters

Recent Comments

  • Rock McEwen on Doctors, not talk-show hosts, should make public health decisions
  • Chuck Davis on Doctors, not talk-show hosts, should make public health decisions
  • paul nemetz on The 2021 legislative session is upon us. Here’s what to expect.
  • Gene Roban on Data centers: Wyoming’s next Powder River Basin?
  • Ellen A. Jervis on Doctors, not talk-show hosts, should make public health decisions

Footer

Recent Posts By Date

March 2021
M T W T F S S
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
293031  
« Feb    

From The Archives

  • About Us
  • People
  • Careers
  • Freelancing
  • Underwriting
  • How to Republish
  • Subscribe
  • Contact Us

Copyright © 2021 by WyoFile