Western Fuels Association
The Western Fuels Association (WFA) is a nonprofit cooperative established in 1973, headquartered in Gillette, Wyoming. It serves consumer-owned electric utilities, primarily in the Great Plains, Rocky Mountains, and Southwest regions of the United States. The association is governed by a board of directors from its member utilities and is managed by a CEO and staff responsible for daily operations. WFA handles the procurement and transportation of approximately 12 million metric tons of coal annually from federal lands in the Powder River Basin, alleviating member utilities from the burden of maintaining their own procurement staff.
WFA operates a fleet of around three thousand railroad cars and manages the Escalante-Western Railway in New Mexico to transport coal. The cooperative offers consulting services in various areas, including management and mining engineering. Membership is categorized into three classes, with different levels of reliance on WFA’s coal and transport services. WFA promotes the use of coal for energy generation, asserting that its carbon emissions do not significantly contribute to global warming, and some leaders have characterized climate change as a controversial topic. However, the association indicates plans to engage in carbon capture and storage technologies to mitigate carbon emissions.
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Subject Terms
Western Fuels Association
- DATE: Established 1973
Mission
Headquartered in Gillette, Wyoming, Western Fuels Association (WFA) is a nonprofit cooperative that provides services to consumer-owned electric utilities, both rural and municipal, in the Great Plains, Rocky Mountains, and Southwest regions. A board of directors, selected from its member utilities, oversees the association. Its chief executive officer and staff handle daily operations.
WFA purchases coal and transports it to its member utilities, thus removing the expense for them of maintaining their own procurement staff. WFA supplies approximately 12 million metric tons of coal annually from lands leased from the federal government in the Powder River Basin of southeast Montana and northeast Wyoming. It acquires further coal supplies through affiliated companies in Wyoming and Colorado. To move the coal to its members, WFA reserves about three thousand railroad cars, as well as operating the Escalante-Western Railway in New Mexico. WFA also offers consultation services on management, marketing, mining engineering, location of new coal fields, litigation, regulation, and taxation.
WFA members belong to one of three classes. Class A members rely on WFA for the fuels to generate power; class B members use WFA coal for some power plants; and class C members use WFA transportation and expertise as needed.
Significance for Climate Change
The WFA promotes the use of coal for generating energy in the American West, subscribing to the view that the carbon dioxide produced thereby does not contribute significantly to global warming and may actually be beneficial. Some WFA leaders have made statements referring to climate change as a controversy that has caused hysteria. WFA supports the Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change, which argues that little global warming has occurred during the last seventy years and that the increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere may actually improve human health. However, the organization's website offers news indicating that it planned to utilize carbon capture and storage, which reduces carbon emissions.
"Energizing Public Power." Western Fuels Association, 2024, www.westernfuels.org/about. Accessed 26 Dec. 2024.
"Powering the Grid Through the Coal Supply Chain." National Mining Association, 2 Dec. 2019, nma.org/2019/12/02/western-fuels-association-powering-the-grid-through-the-coal-supply-chain/. Accessed 26 Dec. 2024.
"We Help Utilities of Any Size Do Big Things." Western Fuels Association, 2024, www.westernfuels.org/. Accessed 26 Dec. 2024.