Event Will Examine Issues Affecting Wyoming Coal Industry

December 4, 2012

The School of Energy Resources and the Center for Energy Economics and Public Policy at the University of Wyoming will host a coal industry roundtable discussion in December to examine the state of the coal industry.

“Powder River Basin Coal: Domestic Challenges and International Opportunities” will examine coal use in the United States, coal’s export potential and what issues may affect coal use in the next four years, among other topics.

The roundtable is scheduled from 9 a.m-3:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 13, at the Gillette College Technical Education Center, 3521 S. 4-J Road, in Gillette. The event is free, but registration is required because of limited seating.

For more information and to register, visit www.uwyo.edu/ser/conferences/coal-roundtable.html.

The domestic coal industry faces many challenges, including environmental constraints on emissions and the economic consequences, competition from other fuel sources for electrical generation, and the implementation of renewable portfolio standards.

Wyoming is the nation’s leading producer of coal and its economy depends on energy extraction.

“Coal is important as an abundant, low-cost energy source for the U.S. economy,” UW School of Energy Resources Director Mark Northam says. “The energy programs at the University of Wyoming are looking at ways that coal can continue to be used in the decades to come, because maintaining a viable coal industry is important to ensuring stable, low-cost, reliable electric power generation.”

The result of this roundtable will be a white paper that will be made available to state and federal policy makers to inform regulatory decisions affecting the coal industry.

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