Editor’s Note
Coal powers America. Or at least it has for the last sixty years. For most of the last century, anywhere from 45 to 55 percent of US electricity came from coal.
Energy in the West
Over the last quarter century, the western states’ energy portfolio has shifted. Coal used to produce far and away the largest share of electricity, but recent advances in hydraulic fracturing and demand for low-carbon fuel have bumped natural gas to first place.
Net-Zero Energy Homes in Wyoming
The next frontier?
On an unseasonably warm day last October, Richard Fox pulled up to the construction site of his future home near Pavillion, Wyoming, in an old Toyota pickup.
Scenarios Planning
An oil major considers possible futures to prepare for a changing world
Royal Dutch Shell’s primary business is the discovery, extraction, refinement, transportation, marketing, and selling of oil.
The Clean Power Plan
When Congress failed to enact legislation to address climate change, President Obama vowed to take action himself. “No challenge poses a greater threat to our children, our planet, and future generations,” he said.
Carbon Capture
Wyoming could lead the world toward a cleaner energy future
This December, five international research teams will converge at the outskirts of Gillette, Wyoming, to compete for a $7.5 million Carbon XPRIZE.
The Most Complicated Machine Ever Built
How to modernize the power grid
Renewable energy is on the rise in the western United States, and the world.
A “Just Transition” for Fossil Fuel Workers
The search for a jobs-positive shift to clean energy
Nearly 500 Wyoming coal miners were laid off last spring, and in the past two years roughly 5,400 oilfield workers lost their jobs in the state.
Turbines on the Horizon
How the western grid could unleash Wyoming wind energy, for better or worse
California and Wyoming make strange bedfellows, but when it comes to sharing electricity, the two states have been flirting.
Renewable Portfolio Standards
Several states have implemented Renewable Portfolio Standards in an effort to cut greenhouse gas emissions from the electricity sector.
Wyoming’s Wind Tax
Wyoming’s strong, predictable, consistent winds are a world-class resource. Ranchers and farmers have harnessed the wind to pump water since Wyoming was first settled, and small-scale commercial wind projects started in the 1970s.
Doing More with Less
How energy efficiency and conservation can decrease UW’s utility bills
Keeping the lights and heat on at the University of Wyoming is a challenge.
Net Metering
Net metering lets customers tie small-scale renewable energy systems such as solar panels into the grid to offset their energy bills.
Community Solar
Community solar—sometimes referred to as a solar garden or virtual net metering—is when several households, businesses, or other entities invest together in a solar installation and share the electricity it produces.
Amphibious Citizen Scientists
Wildlife managers turn to volunteers for help collecting hard-to-get data
I swished my dipnet through water and vegetation at the edge of the beaver pond, creating swirls of mud that obscured the bottom.
Case of the Missing Otters
UW researchers search for answers in the Green River Basin
Brady Godwin was on the lookout for river otters.
Small-Scale Hydropower
Wyoming’s streams and irrigation ditches are an untapped clean energy source
“If we disconnected that 14-inch pipe and pointed it upward, the water would blast nearly 600 feet into the air,” says Les Hook
Energy Transition
Our world needs more energy and less CO2
The world needs more energy. More than 1.4 billion people live without access to electricity.
