Wyoming Delegation to LA to Talk Coal

Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal and top advisors took a field trip to Los Angeles Friday to meet with Mike Peevey, SoCalEd's Al Fohrer, and SDGE's Debra Reed. The topic? Coal.

Wyoming's got lots of it and California needs electricity so the two sides did their best to see if they could make a deal. Environmental considerations will define any arrangement, however, as the Wyoming delegation was told flat out that any electricty produced from coal in Wyoming and used in California has to meet California CO2 standards.

That prompted this rather unique comment from Wyoming Senate President John Schiffer: "If my buyers say they want black-hided cattle, what I do is I go buy black Angus bulls and they'll buy it." Right...

Gov. Freudenthal's top energy advisor then compared the trip to L.A. to a visit to another country. He's probably right.

Culture shock, aside, Wyoming appears to be serious about selling energy. The delegation brought along draft legislation that would provide for the undergroun storage of CO2 produced by coal-fired plants.

Wyo leaders pitch coal power to California [Casper Star Tribune]