Salazar opens 750M tons of Wyo. coal to mining

CHEYENNE, Wyo. - Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced plans Tuesday to auction off vast coal reserves in Wyoming over the next five months, unleashing a significant but controversial power source amid uncertainty about clean and safe energy development.
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Selling the coal also will benefit Wyoming, bringing in anywhere from $13.4 billion to $21.3 billion, according to the BLM. Nearly half of that money will go to the state.

"We need the energy. We need the jobs that come with energy. We need the electricity," said Gov. Matt Mead, standing next to Salazar for the announcement at a new, $70 million high school paid for largely by state revenue from energy development.
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Salazar's announcement didn't sit well with environmentalists. The coal will provide 20 times more electricity than the Interior Department committed all last year to develop from renewable sources, said Jeremy Nichols of WildEarth Guardians.