Wyoming Gives Nod to Trump With Plan for ‘Energy Dominance Fund’

Wyoming is launching a new Energy Dominance Fund that will support its expansive oil and gas sector, but the exclusion of wind and solar project funding marks a key difference from a similar fund the state set up a few years ago.

The state’s approach in barring wind and solar projects from being awarded money from the $105 million fund parallels the priorities of the Trump administration, which has tried to halt various wind farm projects and has cut federal funding for solar projects.

Rob Creager, executive director of the Wyoming Energy Authority who also sits on the National Coal Council, said state officials met with representatives from the White House and the administration’s Energy Dominance Council multiple times over the last year. They met in Washington, DC, to talk about how to help advance the administration’s goals, which sparked the idea to create the fund.

But Creager didn’t believe the state’s move to bar those projects from receiving funding was an idea from the Trump administration. “The overwhelming sentiment” from state lawmakers was to not allow wind and solar projects to qualify, Creager said.

“Wind, and solar, especially when you talk industrial solar, has had some pushback in the state as of late,” he said, noting residents have been concerned about land use.

Under the law setting up the new fund, developers for projects focused on coal, natural gas, enhanced oil recovery, uranium enrichment or conversion, and more will be able to apply for the money at least three times a year. For projects to qualify for funding, they have to be able to match the money they’d receive from the state’s $105 million fund, which will be paid for from the pot of severance tax revenue fossil-fuel companies pay to the state.

The law establishing the fund officially takes effect July 1.

‘Economic Sense’

Supporters of the fund say excluding wind and solar projects is appropriate because they don’t pay severance taxes.

Pete Obermueller, president of the Petroleum Association of Wyoming, said the fund’s main purpose is to support projects that require a lot of capital, which is common in a state where energy has to travel a long way to get to market. He said investing in these projects “makes enormous economic sense” because the state’s return on investment stands to be much more than the grant money itself. Wyoming is also highly dependent on extractive industries for tax revenue given it doesn’t have income taxes, except for minerals, he added.

“The demand for it will far outstrip the $105 million availability,” he said.

A few years ago, the state set up a similar fund to provide matching funding for energy projects that ultimately totaled $155 million. Creager said Wyoming’s aim was to offer state support alongside assistance from the federal bipartisan infrastructure law that passed a few years ago. That fund now has less than $2 million left in it, he said in early March.

The new fund’s title is very similar in name to the US Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Dominance Financing—formerly known as the Loan Programs Office—through which the federal government awards funding for various energy projects and initiatives. The administration has often equated its energy policy strategy with “dominance” and also national security and independence.

The White House didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment about Wyoming’s new law.

Renewables Left Out

While the state’s new law easily passed both chambers of the statehouse, some environmental groups have raised concerns over the exclusion of wind and solar.

“When you put this bill in context of Wyoming’s overall energy policy, it stays consistent with Wyoming’s disfavor of renewable energy,” said Claire Deuter, community organizer at the Powder River Basin Resource Council, a nonprofit focused on responsible resource development in the state. “Even though Wyoming has touted an all-of-the-above energy policy for quite a while now, routinely wind and solar are forgotten about.”

Frank Macchiarola, chief advocacy officer for the American Clean Power Association, highlighted the need for clean energy given electricity demand.

“Meeting that demand will require a significant buildout of new energy generation, and the most affordable and reliable path forward is an all-of-the-above approach that leverages every available energy resource including solar and wind,” he said in a statement in response to the state’s new law.

Other states have launched their own grant programs to support energy projects. New Mexico has a grant program for “advanced energy” projects, which it describes “as technology and innovation that makes energy use cleaner, safer, more secure, and more reliable.”

In February, the Wyoming Energy Authority announced it was doling out around $11 million in grant funding through its current grant program for a critical minerals project, an oil and gas project, and a carbon storage project. In announcing the awards, Gov. Mark Gordon (R) said the state was “ensuring Wyoming’s energy legacy remains competitive, resilient, and unmatched for decades to come.”