A large part of future energy demands may have to be satisfied by coal, uranium, and oil shale, with coal assuming most of this burden. By the year 2020 the value of products from coal may exceed the combined value of all products of Wyoming's other minerals. Coal can either be shipped out or used in state. In-state use has been projected to require mining 360 million tons each year by 2020. Sufficient mineable coal is available to meet the demand. To utilize this coal, large quantities of water are needed.

More than 75% of Wyoming's coal reserves are in the Powder River basin which is a water-short region. Annual water requirements for a 1,000-megawatt steam-electric power plant average 14,000 acre-ft; for a 100,000 bbl per day coal liquefaction plant 20,000 to 65,000 acre-ft; and for a coal gasification plant with a capacity of 250,000,000 MCFD of pipeline gas a minimum of 10,000 acre-ft. More than 500,000 acre-ft of water will be needed annually (10.6 × 10⁶ bbl per day) in the Powder River basin. Three alternate schemes for supplying this water have been investigated by the Wyoming Water Planning Program. The total water demand cannot be met without importing water.

Water is the controlling factor in the in-basin use of Powder River basin coal. Large quantities of water cannot be imported without political agreement. The long-range water availability affects the feasibility of in-basin use of coal and land reclamation.

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