22 Western governors released bipartisan energy resolutions as Trump looks to unwind policies
As the White House looks to write a new script on energy policy, these state leaders, both Democrats and Republicans, are working together on clean energy and other goals. Read More

A group of Republican and Democratic governors mostly from the Western United States came together late last year about a month after the election of Donald Trump to announce 23 bipartisan policy goals for 2025. Three of those resolutions from the Western Governors Association focused on energy, air quality and workforce issues.
“The fun thing about WGA is that our entire purpose is to foster bipartisan policy development with a federal focus,” said Troy Timmons, policy director of the WGA, made up of 22 governors of the westernmost United States and territories and advocates who seek collective goals on behalf of those states with the federal government.
In a time of ever-accelerating political divide, the WGA stands as a testament to bipartisan collaboration. Governors from the extremes of both political parties came together to call for the federal government’s support in measures including:
- Advancing environmental review, siting and permitting processes that facilitate clean energy development and the improvement and construction of necessary energy infrastructure, while ensuring environmental and natural resource protection;
- Collaborating to develop the offshore wind industry as it presents a strong economic and sustainable energy generation opportunity; and
- Reducing methane emissions connected to oil and gas operations, coal mines, landfills, agriculture, wastewater facilities and natural sources, among other policy resolutions.
While not registered lobbyists, WGA will advocate for federal policies based upon discussions with regional industry groups and NGOs.
“There’s a Forests in the Farm Bill coalition that works on those forestry title provisions in the Farm Bill, a lot of which really affect land management,” said Timmons, “so we’ll talk with different folks within that coalition to say, ‘You know, here’s where we’re coming from and where [our interests] match up, because we’re pushing [that message] on the hill.'”
Additionally, Timmons stresses how vital bipartisanship will be during the Trump administration and Republican majority in Congress.
“Here’s a blueprint from Western governors on things that they’ve been able to build bipartisan consensus on,” said Timmons. “Doesn’t it make sense to use this as a starting point as you put whatever together?”
How these resolutions benefit the private sector IRL
One facet of WGA’s Energy Policy Resolution includes a push for further geothermal development across the west, with much of it located on federally managed lands. A 2025 analysis released by National Renewable Energy Laboratory this month found that a potential 975 gigawatt (GW) of enhanced geothermal energy production exists on 27 million acres of federal land. To understand that energy potential, 1 GW of energy is equivalent to 1.887 million solar panels.
“Anything we can do to reduce time and cost associated with being able to drill for the purposes of geothermal energy is something that we’re very excited about,” Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and then current chair of WGA told Stateline in March 2023, “There’s been great interest from other governors in the West.”
And while waiting on the federal government, Polis and WGA then introduced the Heat Beneath Our Feet initiative to examine potential future land for geothermal development, while Colorado announced tax credits to incentivize private sector development of geothermal energy.
In April, the Colorado Energy Office (CEO) announced the opening of an application for the state’s Geothermal Electricity Tax Credit Offering, which provides $35 million in state investment tax credits. along with an additional production tax credit for electricity production. In May, CEO granted $7.7 million in awards to 35 geothermal projects.
One grantee, Geothermal Technologies, Inc., received $1 million to develop a geothermal test well at the Longs Peak Dairy in Weld County, Colorado, which will lead to an eventual 180 megawatts of clean electricity production when the site reaches full generation capacity.
And it is not just Colorado benefitting from WGA’s focus on generating geothermal energy. Other examples include:
- A $7.5 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program to the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport in Little Rock, Ark., for the development of a geothermal well field;
- A combined $14.3 million in geothermal leases and royalties in Nevada in 2024, nearly $6 million more than the previous two years; and
- The Department of Energy granted $80 million to the Utah Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy (FORGE) to continue research into how to expand geothermal production throughout the state.
While not related to geothermal energy, President Joe Biden signed an executive order Jan. 14, directing the Departments of Energy and Defense to lease federally owned sites to the private sector for data center development. But for private sector partners to successfully lease the federal land for data center development, they must guarantee that they will also bring enough clean energy online to support the energy needs of the data center.
This executive order aligns with WGA’s energy policy resolution to expand and secure its grid across western states and diversify their energy production systems.
If businesses located within WGA member states or territories are interested in working towards any of the WGA’s policy resolutions, Timmons suggested reaching out directly to their governor’s office.
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