Energy
Energy production is central to Converse County’s economy. It’s also diversified including coal, oil, natural gas, uranium, electrical generation and wind energy development.
Several residents are part of the crews that cover the round-the-clock schedules at the coal mines in the county’s northern reaches.
Buses can frequently be seen leaving the Douglas community carrying workers to and from their shifts at the mines 60 miles north.
Coal extracted from the open pits mines, using equipment that handles tons at a time, is loaded on mile-long coal trains including over 110 cars each and destined for eastern power plants. Converse County is home to one power plant, the Dave Johnston power plant operated by PacifiCorp just outside of Glenrock along the North Platte River. One of the largest power plants in the Rocky Mountain Region, the facility is rated at 810,000 kilowatts.
Converse County is also home to Wyoming’s only active uranium mine. The Smith Ranch-Highland in-situ mine near Glenrock produced two million pounds of yellow cake in 2007, but has a capacity to produce four million. Canada-based Cameco Corp operates the mine.
More recently, a new form of energy production has been added to the skyline in the form of wind turbines. Several turbines can be seen north of Glenrock with additional projects under construction. The turbines are turned by central Wyoming’s windy conditions.
While Converse County’s energy production facilities aren’t open to the public, a great deal can be seen on a roadside tour. Those who’d like to see the turbines can travel north of Glenrock and turn down 55 Ranch Road. A trip on Highway 59 and down the Antelope Coal Mine Road in northern Converse County provides visitors a glimpse of coal mining in action. Dave Johnston power plant can be seen along the river just east of Glenrock.
| P.O. Box 1212, Douglas, WY 82633 |