Now leading Western Governors’ Association, Cox aims to expand energy abundance plans

Gov. Spencer Cox gives an interview at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on the first day of the legislative session, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. Photo: Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Utah Gov. Spencer Cox has a new leadership position among his Western counterparts, and also, a new platform to advance an item sitting on top of his priorities agenda — energy abundance.

On Tuesday, during the annual meeting of the Western Governors’ Association, an organization that aims to join bipartisan policy among governors of 22 Western states and territories, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham passed the gavel to Cox as the association’s new chair.

Along with Hawaii Gov. Josh Green as vice chair, Cox is set to serve in this role for the next year. Cox is planning to use his tenure to implement a year-long initiative focusing on tools to meet the West’s growing energy demand, according to a news release.

“Governor Lujan Grisham has been a tremendous Chair, showing real leadership in uniting us around addressing the housing crisis,” Cox said in a prepared statement. “Our new focus on energy is bold — and urgently needed. It’s been nearly 50 years since we’ve had this kind of moment: rising demand, available capital, and the political will to build. And that’s exactly what we intend to do.”

With his “Energy Superabundance: Unlocking Prosperity in the West,” Cox is hoping to examine challenges and opportunities to expand energy production, modernize transmission and storage options.

“The West is rich in energy — but outdated infrastructure, permitting delays, and rising demand threaten America’s energy edge,” a website for Cox’s initiative says. With this year-long platform, it states, “the West is building the backbone of a more reliable, affordable, and secure grid.”

Cox’s plans for the Western Governors’ Association is in line with what he has in mind for Utah. Last year, Cox unveiled “Operation Gigawatt,” a strategy to double the state’s energy production over the next 10 years, boosting new resources like geothermal and nuclear. This year already Cox has been busy signing agreements with nuclear technology companies and other states, as well as heavily advocating to ease federal nuclear regulations.

Currently, Cox is working on gathering data through a survey aimed toward interested individuals or organizations to manage the scope of the initiative, identifying priority issues for governors, best practices for developing resources and infrastructure, and federal policy issues.