Lori Burkhart is Editor-in-Chief of Public Utilities Fortnightly.
West Virginia and Wyoming, while separated geographically, are both heavily reliant on extraction industries to make their economies hum. Wyoming is the nation’s largest producer of coal and West Virginia is the nation’s second largest producer of coal.
While much of the news lately is on renewable energy, there is also increased focus on reliability and affordability, which means keeping the lights on with dispatchable energy and what that realistically looks like with the promise of technologies that aren’t quite ready for prime time yet. Baseload power is needed and while some states are shutting down coal-fired plants, others are not in a hurry.
Public Utilities Fortnightly talked with the Chairs of two Commissions, West Virginia, and Wyoming, for a bipartisan look at what states with extraction industries are up to. These conversations with Chair Charlotte Lane of West Virginia and Chair Mary Throne of Wyoming are important. Listen in.
Coal State Commissioners articles at fortnightly.com