Proposed Powder River Power Plant Gets Permit Extension

CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — A Wyoming citizen panel has granted a seventh permit extension in 16 years for a proposed power plant that some people think will never be built.

The Wyoming Industrial Siting Council voted 4-2 in Casper on Monday to amend its permit for the $800 million Two Elk Energy Park in the Powder River Basin.
Under the change, work would resume in January 2014 and wrap up in 2016.

All that's been built since Two Elk got its first permit in 1997 is a storage building and part of the foundation. Two council members opposed the latest extension, but others said the council's authority is limited to managing any socio-economic disruption.
Two Elk developer Greenwood Village, Colo.-based North American Power Group is seeking a partner for the project. The plant would burn a mix of low-grade coal and beetle-killed timber.