Wyoming
Wyoming draws interest in new nuclear and low-carbon fossil fuel investments – WyoFile
LARAMIE—Wyoming is on the cusp of a nationwide nuclear power resurgence with the backing of a presidential administration that also promises to overhaul federal regulations to ensure the state’s coal, oil and natural gas are positioned to meet booming electrical demand while lowering carbon emissions, Gov. Mark Gordon told an audience of energy enthusiasts.
In Wyoming, he said, “We talk about what’s practical, what’s good and what can we accomplish if we really put our minds to it. That has been, I think, the hallmark of what has driven so much of American energy [innovation] over the years.”
Gordon spoke to about 350 attendees of the Next Frontier Energy Summit, an annual event organized by the Wyoming Energy Authority, at the University of Wyoming on Tuesday. The two-day conference featured speakers representing utility giant PacifiCorp, nuclear energy manufacturer BWXT Advanced Technologies, and leaders in the oil and gas and uranium mining industries. The governor suggested that, after decades of visionary work by state leaders to create regulatory pathways and boost investor confidence to scrub carbon from fossil fuels, markets and national policies are finally beginning to align with Wyoming’s attitude to “find a way forward.”
In fact, Gordon said, he’s recently modified his long-touted mantra of an “all-of-the-above” energy and environmental strategy: “Now, we need to talk about the best of all-of-the-above.”
“We have opportunities to innovate,” he said, “to make mistakes, to correct from those mistakes and to really drive through to a future that is efficient, that is environmentally sound, that has a mix in the energy portfolio — everything from renewables in the appropriate place to fossil [fuels] done right to nuclear done right.”
Faith in Wyoming nuclear, natural gas and coal
As evidence of Wyoming leading on the next generation of energy, PacifiCorp CEO Cindy Crane noted the utility’s tentative agreement to take on TerraPower’s Natrium nuclear power plant under construction near Kemmerer. Not only will Natrium — among the first “advanced small modular reactors” in development in the nation — help the six-state utility secure reliable, low-carbon electricity, it fits within PacifiCorp’s penchant for proven technologies over more speculative endeavors and political favor.
“We don’t shift our strategy based on who’s in the White House,” Crane said. “We don’t manage our business on politics. We manage our business for our customers, first and foremost, and for our states and their energy policies, not the federal government’s policies.”
A big part of what makes advanced nuclear attractive to PacifiCorp, according to Crane, is the partnerships between the utility, TerraPower, the state, federal agencies and the University of Wyoming to build a domestic nuclear energy supply chain and workforce to back it up.
“We don’t shift our strategy based on who’s in the White House. We don’t manage our business on politics.”
Cindy Crane, PacifiCorp
“It is elevating education and job training for Wyoming, as well as a future U.S. workforce,” Crane said. “It is building a transition for our existing and experienced workforce, and it is positioning Wyoming to continue and grow its electrification and supply of power throughout the western U.S.”
After burning more than $5 billion worth of Wyoming coal at its power plants over the decades, PacifiCorp is making the shift — although critics say too slowly — to not only renewables backed by energy storage, according to Crane but to nuclear and natural gas.
In fact, PacifiCorp has converted two of four coal-burning units at its Jim Bridger power plant outside Rock Springs to natural gas, and will convert the final two coal-burning units at the Naughton power plant near Kemmerer to natural gas in 2026. However, Crane noted, PacifiCorp isn’t giving up on Wyoming coal. The company is still evaluating whether it makes sense to retrofit coal units at its Jim Bridger and Dave Johnston power plants with carbon capture, use and sequestration technologies.
Despite a steep price tag for such retrofits, if they move forward — estimated at over $1 billion — the efforts would create thousands of construction jobs and sustain hundreds of existing jobs in the state, Crane said.
“This is truly an example of planting the seeds for long-term jobs and economic prosperity in the state,” she said.
Gordon noted that such efforts to push new commercial-scale technologies are expensive, including for customers, but suggested it is worth the investment.
“The technologies that have come along over the last couple of years are remarkable,” Gordon said. “Yes, some of them are very expensive. First-generation stuff generally is. But we’ve all had the benefit of lessons of time to develop the technologies and see what can be done better.”
Since moving to Wyoming many years ago, and having lived in a few towns around the state, I find that some town and city rivalries must be addressed. Some are based on past conflicts that still cause pain to this day. Some are unexplained.
For example, to this day, all of Johnson County still does not trust Cheyenne after the Johnson County War of 1892. Cattlemen in Cheyenne sent a hit squad hired by the barons to invade Johnson County to eliminate alleged rustlers. A shootout that lasted several days ensued.
Other town rivalries include:
Green River vs. Rock Springs: The two towns are close together and share one of the most intense and oldest community, cultural, and athletic rivalries in the state.
Lander vs. Riverton: Located in Fremont County, this rivalry dates back to 1922 and divides the area over high school football bragging rights. They talk a lot of smack about each other.
Cheyenne vs Casper: The towns just HATE each other. I’ve lived in both, and I can tell you that there is nothing wrong with either town. But I’ve come across people in both towns who talk about their hatred of the other.
There is not a lot of love across Wyoming for Jackson, mostly because of the mega-rich liberals who live there. Many of those mega-rich liberals look down on the rest of Wyoming.
Folks talk smack about Laramie, but in a very different way than people talk smack about Gillette.
Having traveled around Wyoming, I can tell you that most of this hate is just nonsense and a waste of time. In the end, we are all Wyomingites. Just one big bickering family who still have each other’s backs when it comes down to it.
The Charmingly Odd Town Of La Grange Wyoming
It is well worth the long drive to see one of the most interesting and quirky little towns in Wyoming.
Stay for lunch. You won’t regret it.
Gallery Credit: Glenn Woods
Jay Em, Wyoming, Frozen In Time
Jay Em, what an unusual name for a town.The few people who live there are proud of what their spot on earth once was, and they work to preserve it. They keep this little community frozen in time.
Gallery Credit: Glenn Woods
Wyoming
Hoping to draw Colorado interest, construction begins at $80M betting facility in Laramie County
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Foundation work is beginning this week on Wyoming’s next horse betting and gaming house.
The $80 million Wyoming Downs facility in Laramie County, one of two the company is investing in over the next couple of years, is poised to be one of the largest facilities of its kind in the state. The company is aiming for a spring 2027 opening.
The facility will host upwards of 600 historic horse racing machines, Wyoming’s largest TV wall, multiple dining options and more across 58,000 square feet. More land was bought for future hotel development. Commuters driving between Cheyenne and the Colorado border can see clearly from Interstate 25 the expansive development.
That placement along the travel corridor is purposeful, Wyoming Downs and 307 Horse Racing President Kyle Ridgeway said.
“I think that the targeted consumer for this is from Colorado or from the Front Range,” Ridgeway said. “I anticipate we’re going to have plenty of people from Cheyenne come down here to play and enjoy the amenities, but when you look at 600,000 people within a 30-minute drive, that’s what justifies this investment and brings all that tax revenue in from another state, which is fantastic.
“We don’t get the opportunity to do that in Wyoming very often.”
There is still plenty to offer Cheyenne residents besides the facility’s amenities. Ridgeway said in a speech to attendees at the project’s groundbreaking Tuesday, June 2, that more than 150 permanent jobs will be supported by the facility on top of the dozens supported by the companies’ corporate offices and the 400-plus involved in the project’s construction.
Groathouse Construction, a Wyoming business, is the project’s general contractor. Wyoming Downs said it believes putting the project in local hands also helps keep the project uniquely Wyoming-focused.
Ridgeway added the facilities have already proven themselves to be effective tax revenue generators for the local governments. The Wyoming Gaming Commission’s 2025 report, released in late May, shows bettors wagered $2.49 billion on historic horse racing machines last year, a jump from the $2.11 billion wagered in 2024.
Wyoming Downs facilities generate roughly $25 million in taxes annually across the state, and Ridgeway estimated after the ceremony that the upcoming $80 million facility alone will generate an additional $3 million for Laramie County once the property has been in operation for a few years.
Horse betting sites have been increasingly popping up across Wyoming this decade. The Wyoming Downs location will be Cheyenne’s second large-scale horse betting facility since 2024, when the 30,000-square-foot Horse Palace at Swan Ranch opened. Ridgeway said Wyoming Downs is still offering something fresh for tourists and residents.
“This’ll have amenities that Swan Ranch doesn’t have, including the largest TV wall in Wyoming and a pretty super-cool sports viewing area with a restaurant and just a level of finish and class that I don’t think Wyoming has quite seen yet with these types of properties,” he said.
Ridgeway said he thinks resident fatigue with these facilities isn’t as strong as it appears, especially given the tourism benefits of off-track betting.
“Wyoming’s been built on mineral extraction and tourism, and what this is is a touristic facility. I’m not aware of any particular pushback about this specific facility outside of — you see random social media comments where people say, ‘Oh, another gambling facility.’ But where this is located, I think people in Cheyenne have generally been supportive of,” he said.
The Laramie County facility will be just one part of a larger project Wyoming Downs is working on over the next few years. Construction will begin in early 2027 on a similar facility in Evanston looking to draw in Utah and western Colorado crowds.
Some of the company’s current facilities, notably in Casper, Cheyenne and Rock Springs, will see millions poured into renovations as well. New smaller-scale parlors will also go up in Gillette and Green River this year, according to an information packet provided by the company.
More details will come as the construction process develops, Ridgeway said. Details about amenities, such as what the complex’s dining options will look like, remain undisclosed, though Ridgeway promised that options will be “excellent.”
“We haven’t made final selections on what the options are, but we have a number of different options on the table that we’re considering for what we want to offer for the customers,” Ridgeway said. “You have to have something that’s high quality for where this is located. If somebody’s going to drive 25 or 35, or even 45 minutes to come here, they got to be able to sit down and have a quality meal.”
For more information as it becomes available and to learn more about Wyoming Downs facilities and 307 Horse Racing‘s events and offerings, see the companies’ websites. Renderings for the upcoming Cheyenne facility commissioned by the company are available for viewing below.
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