In a precedent-setting decision issued on August 30th, the Wyoming Supreme Court struck down High Plains Power’s policy to reducing the financial benefit of having solar panels. Not wanting the precedent of High Plains Power’s action to cut by approximately 80 percent the compensation paid to rooftop solar owners for the power they produce and […]
Posts Categorized: Powder River Breaks Newsletter
Powder River Breaks Newsletter, May – June 2024
May – June 2024, Volume 52, Number 3 In May, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced it will end federal coal leasing in the Powder River Basin – the largest coal-producing region in the United States. The decision represents a historic shift in federal management of coal in the region, recognizing environmental and health […]
Powder River Breaks Newsletter, March – April 2024
March – April 2024, Volume 52, Number 2 On February 12, the Department of the Interior announced a finalized rule reforming the Bureau of Land Management’s onshore oil and gas leasing program. Readers may recall this rule was proposed last spring. Powder River members engaged diligently throughout the rulemaking process to ensure quick passage and […]
Powder River Breaks Newsletter, January – February 2024
January – February 2024, Volume 52, Number 1 Last year, High Plains Power became the third rural electric cooperative, and the largest, to significantly reduce the compensation it provides to customers who generate their own solar electricity. Called net metering, Wyoming law provides that a utility has to credit or compensate a solar owner for […]
Powder River Breaks Newsletter, November – December 2023
November – December 2023, Volume 51, Number 6 While daily life in the Equality State may feel fraught with policy and cultural disagreements, the Powder River members who gathered in Sheridan on Nov. 4 came together eager for the camaraderie that the annual meeting offers. Since last year’s annual meeting celebrated 50 years of Powder […]
Powder River Breaks Newsletter – September-October 2023
September – October 2023, Volume 51, Number 5 Powder River staff and members traveled to Denver, CO in late August to show support for the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) proposed Fluid Mineral Leases and Leasing Process rule. Readers may recall from our previous issue that the rule makes long overdue changes to the onshore […]
Powder River Breaks Newsletter – July – August 2023
July – August 2023, Volume 51, Number 4 After more than half a century of waiting, Powder River, the Western Organization of Resource Councils, and allies applaud the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for releasing new rules for federal oil and gas wells. The proposed rules will help ensure that federal wells are plugged and […]
Powder River Breaks Newsletter, May – June 2023
May – June 2023, Volume 51, Number 3 In May, Powder River joined with Western Colorado Alliance (WCA) and Western Organization of Resource Councils (WORC) to advocate for stronger federal onshore oil and gas bonding requirements. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is considering a rule that would update onshore oil and gas lease sales. […]
Powder River Breaks Newsletter, March – April 2023
At the end of March, PacifiCorp (which does business as Rocky Mountain Power in Wyoming) released its new 20-year energy plan, detailing what new electricity generation resources the company expects to build and what generation resources it will retire during that timeframe. The plan should largely not be surprising to most who have been following […]
Powder River Breaks Newsletter, January – February 2023
January – February 2023, Volume 51, Number 1 A Jan. 31 Bloomberg article by journalist Aaron Clark revealed significant shortcomings in emissions reporting at the Douglas Gas Plant, operated by Tallgrass Midstream, LLC. Following a routine maintenance project, oxygen levels at the facility rose to a hazardous level, prompting operators to conduct a safety release […]
