Trump administration backs Gov. Cox’s vision on energy, lands

U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told Utah Gov. Spencer Cox on Tuesday that the White House supports his vision for greater state control of public lands and dramatically increased energy production.

The federal government is not “the landlord for the state of Utah,” Burgum said. He vowed that the Trump administration is trying to “turn this around 180 degrees” so that local partners can lead on lands issues.

Burgum, who served as the former governor of North Dakota, also endorsed Cox’s “Operation Gigawatt,” saying Utah is proving that energy production does not have to come at the expense of the environment.

“This is a land of abundance. It is a place where we can do both,” Burgum said.

Cox spoke with his former gubernatorial colleague — who he called “the smartest secretary in government right now” — at Southern Utah University’s One Utah Summit on the anniversary of launching his energy initiative.

At the One Utah Summit one year ago, Cox announced his administration would commit to doubling Utah’s power production over the next decade to meet the rapidly rising demand caused largely by the growth of artificial intelligence.

On Tuesday, Cox expanded his goals to include making Utah the home of the country’s “entire” nuclear energy supply chain, and the model for permitting reform nationwide — objectives he is spearheading as chair of the Western Governors Association.

Why focus on AI?

Multiplying energy production is key to the AI revolution sweeping the globe, according to Burgum, because it will enable the U.S. to win a global AI arms race with China and ensure that rural communities are not left behind.

Burgum and Cox said they want to reframe the U.S. energy debate around an all-of-the-above “energy addition” approach instead of a green “energy transition” — which they consider narrow and impractical.

Their emphasis is about more than economic dominance, however. In an AI world, energy production is synonymous with progress, Burgum said.

“The old saying is flipped: now, power is knowledge,” Burgum said. “We need power to create knowledge.”

The overhaul needed across government and industry for the U.S. to keep up is daunting, according to Burgum.

Last year, China began adding 94.5 gigawatts of coal to its power grid, and advanced construction on 30 nuclear power plants. Meanwhile, the U.S. closed 4.5 gigawatts of coal plants in 2024, and has only two nuclear plants under construction.

China also controls the market on critical rare earth minerals, and produces far more mining engineers than America. Even if the U.S. leads in technology development “China can brute force their way to lead in artificial intelligence,” Burgum said.

What has Operation Gigawatt done?

In an interview with the Deseret News, Utah Office of Energy Development Director Emy Lesofski said Operation Gigawatt aims to spur energy production from the bottom-up by improving the work force and regulatory environment.

“It really has catalyzed a ton of activity that is starting to bear fruit,” Lesofski said. “We’re laying the foundation for realizing that energy future that the governor laid out.”

Since the launch of Operation Gigawatt, the Utah Legislature has moved to protect ratepayers from large load consumers, keep the Intermountain Power Plant open, refocus higher ed on AI technology and create a nuclear energy policy panel.

These actions, along with MOUs signed by Cox with small modular reactor firms and neighboring states, set Utah apart as the state doing the most to create a policy environment for nuclear energy, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute.

Utah is uniquely positioned to become the nuclear hub of the U.S., Lesofski said, because it has the only operating uranium mill in the country — located near Blanding — and a network of nuclear companies drawn by the friendly business environment.

Cox’s energy vision has the potential to disproportionately benefit rural Utah, Lesofski said, because that is where the state’s natural resources are found, where the energy workforce already lives and where groundbreaking energy projects are being built.

Environmental concerns

This attention to rural Utah from Cox and Burgum concerns those who see deregulation and development as endangering Utah’s unique landscape and vulnerable communities.

Lexi Tuddenham, executive director of Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah (HEAL Utah), said there is room for permitting reform. But equating fast with better can cut out important checks on new projects, including public comment periods, she said.

The governor’s goals related to nuclear energy projects — that are decades away from realization — are also out of step with the AI energy demands that the state is facing right now, according to Tuddenham. She said wind and solar energy options make more sense in the short term.

Tuddenham also believes the state should do more to inform Utahns about how nuclear waste will eventually be stored.

“Environmental impact has to be held as a co-equal desired end result of all this energy development, just as having affordable, reliable, clean energy,” Tuddenham said.

Cox has also earned criticism from environmental groups over his commitment to pursuing a lawsuit that would ask courts whether the federal government has constitutional authority to maintain 18.5 million acres of unappropriated public lands in the state against the state’s wishes.

The governor has often railed against executive agencies that have closed roads and expanded national monuments without consulting local Utahns. On Tuesday, Burgum shared Cox’s concerns and promised a different approach from the White House.

Steve Bloch, the legal director for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, said Burgum’s comments show “a fundamental misunderstanding” about his responsibilities to conserve public lands.