Wyoming Mining Association Executive Director Travis Deti said his industry is cautiously optimistic about what Chris Wright, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Energy secretary, could mean for the coal industry .

“We’re in wait-and-see mode with all of this, but we’re optimistic,” Deti said.

Deti specifically cited coal production in the Powder River Basin as having a potentially brighter future under Wright’s leadership. A new BLM rule Signed into law under President Joe Biden’s administration would end coal production in Wyoming’s energy-rich Powder River Basin by 2041.

“With the ban on coal leasing in the Powder River Basin, I’m hoping they’ll cut back on some things and make a 180-degree turn in the way we’re doing (things),” Deti said.

As the domestic thermal coal market continues to decline at an accelerating rate, the Powder River Basin has seen its coal production reduced to less than half of what it was a decade ago. Wyoming is on track to produce less than 200 million tonnes coal for the first time since 1992.

Wright, who works in the fracking industry, was announced by Trump as his choice for Energy secretary late last week.

Wright has consistently espoused a pro-fossil fuel agenda in media interviews and in a video posted to LinkedIn last year, declaring: “There is no climate crisis, nor are we in the middle of it.” of an energy transition. »

“He has worked in nuclear, solar, geothermal, oil and gas,” Trump wrote on X, referring to Wright. “Most importantly, Chris was one of the pioneers who helped launch the American shale revolution that fueled American energy independence and transformed global energy markets and geopolitics. »

It’s a safe bet that the Trump administration will be more supportive of Wyoming’s energy sector, particularly coal, given its track record during Trump’s first term.

The Biden administration has significantly reduced the number of oil and gas leases it offers and has taken a negative view of coal, openly pushing for a reduction in the industry.

“They didn’t hesitate to do it,” Deti said. “They want to end coal in the United States”

But when it comes to shipping Wyoming coal overseas through export terminals and ports on the West Coast, Deti said the future is more uncertain. He added that individual states still have the final say on the installation of these facilities.

That’s what happened in 2017 when Washington state blocked a coal export port that would have allowed Wyoming to ship coal to Asian markets.

In 2018, the Trump administration proposed the idea of ​​using West Coast military bases or other federal properties as transit points for shipments of U.S. coal and natural gas to Asia. Former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke framed it as a national security issue aimed at ensuring America’s allies have access to affordable fuel.

Administration

Ryan McConnaughey, vice president and communications director for the Petroleum Association of Wyoming, said that while Trump’s selection of North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum as Interior secretary will have far more impact impact on Wyoming’s energy industry, he said Wright will have an impact. Also.

“I’m sure he understands the need for a robust energy program,” McConnaughey said.

McConnaughey said one major impact is the Department of Energy’s handling of federal grants to help the fossil fuel industry comply with federal regulations. He said the Biden administration has made access to these grants very difficult.

“We hope that Secretary Wright will handle this much more effectively and provide these grants to the industry as planned,” McConnaughey said.

McConnaughey said fossil fuel research has also been sidelined under the Biden administration, activities that include laboratory studies of carbon capture and sequestration and improving the efficiency of fossil fuel production.

“Our view is that using the federal funds provided, this would be a huge step forward for our industry,” he said.

Western connections

Wright is the chief executive of Liberty Energy, a hydraulic fracturing company based in Denver. Liberty Oilfield Services has offices in Gillette and Cheyenne.

“Being in Colorado, I’m sure he understands the issues with drilling on public lands,” McConnaughey said.

Wright has generally denied the existence of human-caused climate change and the existence of a climate crisis.

“Like his new boss, Donald Trump, Wright denies the threat of a scientifically proven climate crisis,” said Lori Lodes, executive director of Climate Power, a nonprofit environmental group.

Wright spoke to Cowboy State Daily three times in 2022 and 2023.

He made headlines in 2021 for to call The North Face’s refusal to supply clothing to another oil company.

“It’s so ridiculously hypocritical,” Wright told Cowboy State Daily. “I spent 15 years talking about energy and climate change. I love this discussion and debate, and I think the general public is just ignoring it.

After North Face turned its back on the other company, Liberty launched a campaign to thank North Face for being a customer of the oil and gas industry, which included YouTube videos that went viral and billboards in downtown Denver.

The outerwear company released a statement in response to the controversy, explaining that it would hurt its brand to be associated with oil and gas companies. She then boasted of her commitment to making all of her clothing recyclable by 2030.

Wright also told Cowboy State Daily in 2023, that if a Colorado initiative to ban all oil and gas permits in the state becomes law, it would not end demand for oil and gas. Instead, he said U.S. energy needs would end up being imported from countries with far less stringent environmental and labor protections than in the United States, which could mean more carbon dioxide emissions. of carbon due to the transportation of oil and gas over longer distances.

“It hurts people. This harms the planet. They are simply wrong,” Wright said of those calling for the ban.

Wright also said he believed in the development of other energy technologies, but did not yet see anything that could replace oil and gas as a primary energy source.

Nuclear impact

The Department of Energy’s primary mission is to ensure the security of the nation’s nuclear arsenal.

FE Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne is a strategic missile base and home to the Minutemen III intercontinental ballistic missiles, which are a key component of the the national nuclear triad.

Tucker Fagan, former head of the nuclear section of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President Ronald Reagan and former commander of FE Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, explained that this department is responsible for creating nuclear bombs, not making them. make it work.

“There is a symbiotic relationship between the Department of Energy and the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy builds the bomb,” he said.

Fagan said he doesn’t expect any changes under the Trump administration when it comes to the management of this program.

Leo Wolfson can be reached at [email protected].