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April 8, 2025
CONTACT:
Michael Pearlman, Communications Director
Janelle Collins, Strategic Communications Director
Governor Gordon Celebrates Trump Coal Executive Orders at White House Ceremony
CHEYENNE, Wyo. – At the request of President Donald Trump, Governor Mark Gordon joined the nation’s Chief Executive, Cabinet Secretaries Doug Burgum and Chris Wright, Wyoming’s Congressional Delegation, and energy industry leaders in the East Room of the White House today for the signing of Executive Orders (EOs) that will strengthen Wyoming’s energy industry while demonstrating America’s commitment to domestic energy. The Cowboy State is the nation’s top coal producer. President Trump believes that coal is essential to our national and economic security.
“This is a great day for Wyoming coal,” Governor Gordon said. “We produce more coal than any other state in the nation. These Executive Orders will be impactful for our state’s coal industry and will help ensure Wyoming coal is available to help meet our nation’s growing energy demand. I thank President Trump for his work in freeing our country from the unnecessarily burdensome regulations imposed on the coal industry by the Biden Administration.”
The President’s Unleashing American Energy Executive Orders direct agencies to remove barriers to coal mining on federal lands and both streamline and prioritize coal leasing. It also designates coal as a “mineral” under a previous executive order, which will accelerate the permitting process for new mines on federal lands.
The EOs also promote coal and coal technology exports and encourage development of coal technologies, work that has been ongoing in Wyoming through the University of Wyoming’s School of Energy Resources (SER). The SER’s Center for Carbon Capture and Conversion is focused on supporting the future of Wyoming coal and creating economic development & diversification opportunities.
“Supporting our coal industry will increase our energy supply, lower electricity costs, stabilize our grid, create high-paying jobs, support burgeoning industries, and assist our allies” said President Trump.
Governor Gordon noted that the coal industry supports approximately 5000 direct jobs in Wyoming, and that the state supplies coal for electricity for almost 50% of the mainland United States. The actions taken by President Trump will help preserve those jobs and reflect a commitment to domestic energy development, Governor Gordon said.
“While the EOs are a great first step, the real focus must not only be extending the life of coal-fired generating plants nearing retirement, but to actually pave the way to building new power plants,” Governor Gordon added. “These are essential to our future. Wyoming is ready to lead the way and be a partner in that process.
I encourage all Wyoming utility companies to carefully examine the possibilities provided in these EOs in order to increase the use of coal and other sources of electricity to see that Wyomingites and other consumers have affordable, reliable, and dependable energy”
Having a reliable and dispatchable source of power such as coal is critical to addressing increasing U.S. power demand from energy-intensive data centers, innovative manufacturing and other technologies, Governor Gordon emphasized. Wyoming continues to be a national leader in coal production and a pioneer in advancing carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technology to ensure coal’s success into the future.
Over the past 3 years, 17 power plants in 11 states have announced closure deferrals. In 2024, these 17 power plants consumed 30.5 million tons of Wyoming coal, with the state collecting more than $90 million in revenue in royalties.
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