Dry Fork Power Plant bad for environment and business

In October 2007, the path was paved to create an institution that has the power to pollute the air, land and water of Wyoming for decades to come. It was then that Wyoming environmental regulators issued a permit that would allow the Basin Electric Power Cooperative to build a $1.3 billion, 385-megawatt coal-fired power plant north of the town of Gillette. This plant will supply power to the Dry Fork Coal Mine, and excess electricty will be sold out of the state (KURL News).

While the plant will undeniably generate money for Wyoming, creating jobs in Gillette and bringing in cash from electricity sold to adjacent states, the environmental impact is unacceptable. When the plant is completed, it will be one of the dirtiest, most pollutant plants in the state (Sierra Club). This is because instead of being equipped with modern machinery, the plant will use 50-year-old technology to burn the coal. Using this archaic system, it is estimated that over the next 40 years the Dry Fork Power Plant will spew more than 3 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere (KURL News). Each year for decades, the plant will emit more than 25 million tons of methane (Earthjustice). The plant will also release mercury and it is predicted to contribute to acid rain and haze in the region (Sierra Club).

The Basin Electric Power Cooperative is undoubtedly aware of the negative environmental impact the Dry Fork Power Plant will have. After receiving its permit from the state to build the plant, the Co-op withdrew its application for a $750 million federal loan to help finance the construction. In order to receive the loan from the government, the Co-op would have to prepare and submit an environmental impact study on the plant (KURL News). In this report, the Co-op would be forced to document the various destructive qualities of the plant.

The power plant isn’t expected to be finished until 2011, but various environmental groups such as Sierra Club Wyoming and the Power River Basin Resource Council are already speaking out in protest (Western Resource Advocates). The national environmental conservation group Earthjustice filed a motion with the Wyoming Environmental Quality Council protesting the issuing of an air quality permit to the Co-op. The hearing in that case won’t take place until November (Earthjustice).

In addition to having destructive effects on Wyoming’s environment, the building of the Dry Fork Power Plant also puts Wyoming behind the times when it comes to national attitudes about environmental responsibility. Last year alone, plans for 59 coal-fired power plants were abandoned in 23 states under pressure from state governments and the public to reduce pollution and emissions (Stateline.org).

Wyoming’s own governor, Democrat Dave Freudenthal, issued a statement in March 2008 saying, “Whether you believe in global warming or not, the political and economic realities have changed, and Wyoming needs to adapt to those changes.” By using 50-year-old technology to run the plant, the Co-op is overlooking opportunities to produce cleaner and safer energy. Technology exists (and is utilized in many states) that allows coal-fired power plant emissions to be stored underground or turns the carbon dioxide byproducts into synthetic natural gas (Stateline.org).

Times are changing and Wyoming can’t afford to fall behind, especially when it comes to one of its most profitable resources: coal. As one of the nation's top producers of coal and coal energy, Wyoming should be seen as innovative, not stagnant. The Dry Fork Power Plant is fundamentally environmentally irresponsible and out of touch with changing political and cultural views about energy production. But this isn’t an all or nothing situation: the Basin Electric Power Cooperative could build the plant in a way that is safer for the environment and still produces profitable energy. Why it is choosing not to is a mystery.