- Gov. Spencer Cox urged a new era of energy production in America on Tuesday.
- Cox's Operation Gigawatt aims for a $60 billion investment in Western power grid expansion.
- A bipartisan task force also seeks to expedite transmission permitting across 10 states.
SALT LAKE CITY — Maybe more than any other elected leader, Gov. Spencer Cox has spent his political capital to persuade his constituents that America is on the cusp of a new era of energy production. But it is an opportunity, not a guarantee.
Cox rallied leaders from 10 states on Tuesday at the annual Western Governors Association conference in Park City to coordinate a once-in-a-generation expansion of the power grid as he wraps up his "energy superabundance" initiative as association chair.
"We have to work together if we're going to get those electrons where they need to go to make life easier and more abundant so that human flourishing can actually happen at levels that we've never experienced before," Cox said. "This is core to who we are."
In an "age of miracles" driven by technological innovation, every miracle "needs an electron," according to Cox. He has made doubling Utah's energy output a top priority as governor through his "Operation Gigawatt" plan to speed up project permitting.
State executives led by Cox announced a bipartisan endorsement of the Western Transmission Expansion Coalition's roadmap for a $60 billion investment in the American West to add or upgrade 12,600 miles of high-voltage transmission lines in the next decade.
Over that period, energy demand is expected to increase by 15%-30% because of artificial intelligence, electric vehicles and additional manufacturing. This has prompted the Trump administration to push for a 20%-60% increase in American power production.
A once-in-a-generation surge
Energy demand in the U.S. has been essentially flat over the past 25 years, Abundance Institute CEO Chris Koopman told the Deseret News. And going back 50 years, the energy base load basically grew only enough to keep up with population growth.
That all changed beginning last year.
"In terms of massive increases in demand and supply, we haven't seen it in a generation," Koopman said. "We're in the midst of probably the fastest load growth America may have ever seen. We're at a point where we're not talking about marginal increases anymore."
If the country does not come up with a reasonable plan to increase its electricity generation by a factor of 10 — and fast — then America could be on a path to "spoil a once once-in-a-millennial opportunity" that few other places in the world are prepared to exploit.
Cox has committed Utah resources to meet the need. Since launching his association campaign a year ago, Utah has become one of the undisputed leaders in small modular nuclear reactors, geothermal technology and efforts to remove federal obstacles.
On June 18, Valar Atomics' small modular reactor in Orangeville, Emery County, reached zero-power fueled criticality, an important step toward full functionality, marking the first time a Department of Energy-authorized reactor has been built outside of a national laboratory.
The Valar Atomics team hopes to meet President Donald Trump's goal to get the reactor online by July 4. Already operational is the Milford Geothermal Project, which aims to contribute 500 megawatts to Utah's grid by 2028 as one of the largest projects in the nation.
Meanwhile, Brigham City has approved plans to develop a nuclear energy ecosystem, including 10 small modular reactors, becoming fully operational in the early 2030s, and a manufacturing hub to create parts for small modular reactors to be sold around the world.
Why is transmission important?
Uniting the West around revamping its electricity infrastructure — which is, in many cases, half a century old — is a huge step toward more forward-looking policy, Emy Lesofski, Director of the Utah Office of Energy Development, told the Deseret News.
"It's unprecedented demand that will be met somewhere: the question is, will it be met here? Will it be met in China?" Lesofski said. "We think we have opportunities to do it in a way that is responsible, and that allows us to be able to stay the best nation on the planet."
Tuesday's agreement between Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Nevada, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, North Dakota, Arizona, Washington and New Mexico establishes a coordinated task force to jointly accelerate transmission permitting across state lines.
The task force will coordinate across gubernatorial offices to prioritize "superabundance" high-impact transmission lines by implementing a shared permitting schedule and by securing participation from counterparts in federal agencies.
At the end of his yearlong initiative, Cox produced a set of recommendations centered around western states lobbying Washington, D.C., to take action. The group is asking federal agencies to cut timelines and Congress to reform outdated energy regulations.
Policymakers need to understand they are in a moment that will define American energy for generations to come, said Ben Fitch-Fleischmann, the transmission director at Interwest Energy Alliance, which is a member of the Western Transmission Expansion Coalition.
"An investment in well-planned, high-capacity transmission typically yields benefits 5 times greater than the cost," Fitch-Fleischmann told the Deseret News. "Spending money on transmission will lower the cost of generation by more than the cost of the transmission."
Will Congress do anything on energy?
With much of the West federally controlled, states rely on federal permitting for most power projects. But Congress has repeatedly failed to achieve consensus. In 2024, a high-profile effort at permitting reform led by West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin failed to get a Senate vote.
Last year's "big, beautiful bill" including incentives for transmission lines and streamlined approvals for some infrastructure, but it did not include an overhaul of the National Environmental Policy Act, a 55-year old law that brings many projects to a standstill.
Permitting reform has again become a topic of focus for congressional lawmakers ahead of the August recess.
While the Trump administration has taken aggressive steps to reduce federal barriers to energy production applauded by Republicans, their selective enforcement of environmental policies have turned some Democrats away from wanting to make a deal.
The message coming from Deer Valley in Utah on Tuesday, from governors representing some of the bluest and reddest states in the nation, was that maybe if the West leads the way on America's energy revolution, then lawmakers in Washington, D.C., will follow its lead.
"We still know how to build here in Utah and throughout the West, and the rest of the United States is learning we have to build again," Cox said. "You can't tell who the Republicans and Democrats are when we're talking about this stuff because we know it's important."
