The Wyoming Democratic Party is praising the President’s clean power plan calling it an attempt to slow the effects of climate change.
Party Vice Chairman Bruce Palmer says he’s hopeful that industry and state policy leaders will stop fighting solutions to climate change and focus on ways to address carbon emissions and develop renewable energy.
“We find this all the time where industry generally pushes back and says no we can’t do it and then when they get pushed a little bit more they do find a way to do it. I don’t see anything here that prevents us from better ways of utilizing the resources that we have.”
Palmer says the state needs a better energy balance, but that will require some policy changes. For instance, unlike oil and gas, Palmer says eminent domain cannot be used to stretch electric transmission lines across the state, limiting the ability for the state to transmit wind energy. He says that’s one of many things that needs to change.
“How do we level the playing field so that renewables are operating with the same set of rules as the older types of energy, the oil, gas, and mining types of sectors and provide that level playing field so that they can move forward and do the things that need to be done.”
Palmer says Wyoming can be a leader in evolving energy production toward a more sustainable future.