GILLETTE, Wyo. — TerraPower’s Natrium reactor demonstration plant in Kemmerer will be delayed, but it’s still coming, President and CEO Chris Levesque said. The timeline established for completing the reactor through the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program assumed the use of nuclear fuel from high-assay low-enriched uranium, or HALEU, from Russia, since the United States isn’t producing […]
Mary Stroka
Posted inEnergy
Surface Transportation Board chair says he’s committed to filling coal vacancies
GILLETTE, Wyo. — Surface Transportation Board Chairman Martin J. Oberman said in a letter today to Wyoming’s U.S. senators that he’s committed to filling coal-related vacancies on the board’s Rail Energy Transportation Advisory Committee as soon as possible. He anticipates they’ll be filled by early March. The Surface Transportation Board is an independent federal agency that handles the economic regulation of freight rail […]
Posted inBusiness
Gillette local union chair: Potential railroad strike wouldn’t wreck U.S. economy
GILLETTE, Wyo. — While most of the railroad unions negotiating with the National Carriers Conference Committee received a majority of their members’ approval on tentative five-year national collective bargaining agreements, a few didn’t. Those unions are the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen, or BRS; the SMART-TD (with respect to one of its contracts), Brotherhood Maintenance of Way Employees […]
Posted inWyoming
(PHOTOS) Gillette boy wins Wyoming Boys and Girls Clubs competition
GILLETTE, Wyo. — On Wednesday, a Buffalo Ridge Elementary School student was crowned the Junior Youth of the Year for the Wyoming Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs. The Wyoming Alliance held its annual Junior Youth of the Year Competition on Nov. 2 at the Boys & Girls Club of the Bighorn Mountains in Buffalo, Boys […]
Posted inAnimals
Wyoming celebrates Bat Week
GILLETTE, Wyo. — Oct. 24 through Oct. 31 is Bat Week, an international celebration to raise awareness about the need for bat conservation. Devils Tower National Monument park staff said in a Facebook post on Wednesday that they’ve been studying 11 bat species for several years and that Devils Tower Natural History Association has donated more than $11,000 […]
Posted inEnergy
Wyoming gas, diesel working group pinpoints 3 policy options to lower gas prices
GILLETTE, Wyo. — Gov. Mark Gordon’s Gas and Diesel Working Group released a report Tuesday featuring its recommendations on reducing gas prices for Wyoming residents. Gordon set up the working group in June amid record-level inflation and gas prices. The group held two public meetings in July and conducted working sessions to make recommendations as to how gas prices […]
Posted inBusiness
Railroad unions could strike Friday
GILLETTE, Wyo. — The federally mandated cooling-off period between freight railroads and train unions ends at midnight Eastern Time on Friday, Sept. 16. By that time, freight railroads must come to an agreement with train unions or Congress must take action. Otherwise, train unions can strike. The National Carriers Conference Committee has reached tentative agreements with many […]
Posted inEnergy
Powder River Basin Resource Council sues federal government regarding BLM drilling project
GILLETTE, Wyo. — Western Watersheds Project and Powder River Basin Resource Council have sued the federal government regarding the Converse County Oil and Gas Project. The Advocates for the West law firm is representing the conservation groups in the case against the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management regarding the 5,000 oil […]
Posted inEnergy
Biden gets win in Wyoming on oil and gas leasing court decision
GILLETTE, Wyo. — A federal judge decided Friday that the Biden Administration had the authority to postpone oil and gas lease sales in early 2021, despite industry groups’ challenges. Western Energy Alliance and the Petroleum Association of Wyoming challenged the president, the Secretary of the Interior and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. In a joined case, […]
Posted inLatest News
(PHOTOS) Stakeholders brainstorm Powder River Basin business, energy solutions at conference in Gillette
GILLETTE, Wyo. — Participants in the Carbon Ore, Rare Earth Element, and Critical Mineral, or CORE-CM, project, are working together to promote business development around energy resources in the Powder River Basin. Stakeholders met Aug. 30 and Sept. 1 at Gillette College Technical Education Center to support economic development around these resources. Through networking and discussion sessions, participants […]
Posted inBusiness
HF Sinclair: $500K Cheyenne Refinery decommissioning charges decreased Q2 net income
CASPER, Wyo. — Decommissioning charges associated with the Cheyenne Refinery conversion to renewable diesel production decreased HF Sinclair Corp.’s second quarter net income, the corporation reported Monday. Before taxes, the lower of cost or market inventory valuation adjustment of $34.5 million, acquisition integration costs of $12.5 million and decommissioning charges of $500,000 related to the […]
Posted inWyoming
Neighbors saw Campbell boy’s talent for horses, trained him for National High School Finals Rodeo
GILLETTE, Wyo. — While two-time National High School Finals Rodeo competitor Cody Boller started riding horses as a young boy, this is only his second year in the sport of cutting. Peppy, the bay mare quarter horse Boller rode in last year’s nationals, has been the ticket to the National High School Finals Rodeo for getting started in cutting […]
Posted inEnergy
Petroleum group intervenes in drilling permit challenge on BLM lands
CASPER, Wyo. — Today, the Petroleum Association of Wyoming sought to intervene in a case pending before the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The case, Center for Biological Diversity and WildEarth Guardians v. United States Department of Interior, et al., concerns drilling on federal lands. Center for Biological Diversity and WildEarth Guardians, […]
Posted inCommunity
Goven family’s generosity helps Oedekoven get to National High School Finals Rodeo
GILLETTE, Wyo. — A tragedy for a Gillette high school student could have prevented her from competing in the National High School Finals Rodeo. Instead, Sydney Oedekoven and Ashlyn Goven, two Campbell County girls, are both competing in barrels this week. Goven ran barrels Monday, and Oedekoven will compete at 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. […]
Posted inNational / World
Biden issues executive order Friday to avoid railroad workers strike
CASPER, Wyo. — In an executive order Friday, President Joe Biden appointed an emergency board to address disputes between railroad unions and freight railroads. The move launched a 30-day cooling off period for the groups, which could agreement Tuesday when they met with the National Mediation Board. Nearly all members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive […]
Posted inEnergy
Governor, Cheney react to HF Sinclair layoff report
CASPER, Wyo. — HF Sinclair Corp. laid off nearly 100 employees at its Sinclair refinery Tuesday, radio station Bigfoot 99 reported Wednesday. While the company has neither confirmed or denied the layoffs, state and federal government officials are reacting to the news. “I am troubled to learn of the HollyFrontier Sinclair refinery layoffs,” Gov. Mark […]
Posted inEnergy
National average gas price continues to decline
CASPER, Wyo. — The national average gas prices fell again this week in what has been the longest decline in average gas prices since the COVID-19 pandemic began, GasBuddy reported Monday. GasBuddy users reported the national mean price today was $4.66 per gallon, down 12.8 cents since a week ago and 34.4 cents from a […]
Posted inLatest News
US national average gas price drops 10.4 cents
CASPER, Wyo. — The U.S. national average gas price has declined for the third straight week, dropping 10.4 cents last week to $4.78 per gallon Tuesday, GasBuddy reported. This is down 7.1 cents from last month, yet is still $1.66 per gallon more than a year ago, GasBuddy’s report said. The national average price of […]
Posted inNational / World
USPS will raise stamp prices July 10
CASPER, Wyo. — Beginning July 10, the U.S. Postal Service will roll out several price changes. The cost of postage stamps will increase from 58 cents to 60 cents, and the cost to mail one metered mail piece will increase from 53 cents to 57 cents, the USPS said in a June 15 article. Postcard stamps […]
Posted inEnergy
State, Cheyenne LEADS release 5-year hydrogen economy plan
CASPER, Wyo. — On Thursday, the Wyoming Energy Authority and nonprofit economic development entity Cheyenne LEADS announced the release of a roadmap for Wyoming to lead the region in the low-carbon hydrogen economy. The five-year Roadmap to Build a Hydrogen Economy describes specific roles and responsibilities for stakeholders from 2022 to 2026 to deliver the […]
Posted inLatest News
Powder River board responds to BLM action on oil and gas lease sale
CASPER, Wyo. — The Bureau of Land Management opened bidding Wednesday morning for the sale of 123 parcels in Wyoming. The BLM Wyoming competitive oil and gas lease sale for the second quarter of 2022 on www.EnergyNet.com will end June 30. BLM Wyoming Public Affairs Specialist Courtney Whiteman told Oil City News on Wednesday that […]
Posted inEnergy
US average gas price falls 8.8 cents in second straight week of decline
CASPER, Wyo. — The U.S. average gas price fell 8.8 cents since last week in the second straight week of decline, GasBuddy reported Monday. The data app calculated that the average gas price nationally is $4.88 per gallon, which is still 28.3 cents above the price a month ago and $1.79 per gallon above the […]
Posted inEnergy
Analysis finds growing solar energy generation in Wyoming
CASPER, Wyo. — While relatively uncommon in Wyoming, rooftop solar is growing and worth the cost, according to a recent report. The Powder River Basin Resource Council, Wyoming Outdoor Council, and Wyoming Chapter of the Sierra Club commissioned the benefit–cost analysis report. The study, “The Benefits and Costs of Net Metering Solar Distributed Generation in Wyoming,” […]
