Gov Mead releases statewide energy plan

— May 13, 2013

(Press release:) Wyoming leads the nation in energy exports to the rest of the country and takes pride in its high standards for environmental stewardship. Today, Gov. Matt Mead unveiled his Energy Strategy: “Leading the Charge: Wyoming’s Action Plan for Energy, Environment and Economy.” According to Gov. Mead, Wyoming’s leadership role requires our state to continue to set the standard and, in the absence of a federal energy plan, Wyoming needs a strategy to address energy, the environment and the economy. The state’s strategy recognizes the interrelationship and importance of all three now and in the future.

“We produce 10.5 quadrillion Btu’s of energy each year in Wyoming. These resources are vitally needed to fuel America’s economy. At the same time our treasures of nature are so important to all who live, work and find inspiration here,” Mead said. “We cannot sit back and hope for the best. We need a strategy to strike the balance between energy development and environmental stewardship.”

“Leading the Charge” is intended to be continually updated and establishes a framework to address issues in a forward looking way with the capability of adjusting to changing circumstances. Each of the strategy’s 47 initiatives are action items to be instigated this year. State agencies will carry out the initiatives and will make progress reports available to the public throughout the year.

“This strategy is the beginning of a continuum. It is meant to be regularly revised, updated and integrated into budgeting and planning,” Mead said. “This strategy was put together with the hard work of people from across the state and from diverse backgrounds, including industry, environmental groups and agriculture. I thank them all and look forward to working together on future initiatives.”

“Leading the Charge” is divided into four main themes:

Economic Competitiveness, Expansion and Diversification
Efficient, Effective Regulation Theme
Natural Resource Conservation, Reclamation and Mitigation
Education, Innovation and New Technologies

Each theme contains initiatives and each initiative requires concrete actions and results. Here are some examples:

Economic Competitiveness, Expansion and Diversification

— New and Expanded Marketing Opportunities for Wyoming Businesses and Industry.

Efficient, Effective Regulation

— Baseline Pre-Development Water Quality Testing.

Natural Resource Conservation, Reclamation and Mitigation

— Develop a Policy Framework for Off-Site Mitigation.

Education, Innovation and New Technologies

— Hybrid Energy Systems – combining inputs to produce a variety of outputs. This could be coal, natural gas and wind in a large energy campus to produce fuels, chemicals and power.

“I look forward to working with legislators, local officials and the public on executing this year’s initiatives, refining our process and making this an even more useful tool next year,” Governor Mead said. “Leading the Charge” is available online at www.energy.wyo.gov and Gov. Mead will provide updates to the public throughout the year.

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Gov Mead releases statewide energy plan

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