GILLETTE - For all the headlines and talk about building new power plants and upgrading electrical transmission systems in the West, actual construction isn't going to happen anytime soon, according to the experts.

These things take five, sometimes 10 years.

Still, Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal feels like spiking a football.

"That's the frustrating part about this job, is that sometimes you don't see the results until years later. Maybe one day when I'm sitting in a retirement home I can look out the window at a new power plant," Freudenthal said in a phone interview Friday.

Freudenthal was speaking of his excitement over a significant change he detected this week among power companies participating in the Rocky Mountain Area Transmission Study (RMATS), which involves Wyoming, Utah and three other Western states.

The change is this: Since the deregulation of the utility industry in the 1990s, power companies are hesitant to invest in new wire upgrades because it's unclear how they might make a return on investment. But by identifying key routes and splitting the cost of new wire among the

beneficiaries, power companies are warming up to the idea of building major megawatt thoroughfares from Wyoming to Denver and other major "heavy-load" electrical consumer markets in the West.

That's a major economic jolt for a state that holds the largest coal reserves in the nation and a good deal of yet-to-be harnessed wind power.

"I think we could easily double (electric) generation in this state without pushing air quality limits," said Freudenthal.

Freudenthal and Utah's former Gov. Mike Leavitt launched transmission effort a year ago. This week, the RMATS group met in Salt Lake City to finalize five "low-hanging fruit" transmission upgrades, two of which would directly tie Wyoming to consumer markets.

The $580 million Bridger Expansion Project aims to unlock inexpensive mine-mouth, coal-fired generation potential and wind turbine generation potential in southwest Wyoming. The $318 million Wyoming-Colorado Lines Project aims to unlock mine-mouth coal-fired generation potential in the Powder River Basin.

Both projects were designed to take advantage of existing rights of way so a potential investor won't have to worry about condemnation issues that can come with stringing new paths across miles of private lands. Power company executives say they like the idea.

"It means same right of way and more wire at higher voltages," said Dan Yueh, vice president of North American Power Group (NAPG) Ltd.

NAPG has worked for many years to build a mine-mouth power plant in the Powder River Basin. It has also considered a Powder River Basin to Denver transmission route. Yueh said though the company has backed away from its aspirations of building transmission line, it still intends to build a power plant here.

But before a new power plant can be built, there must be a delivery system for the electricity. It's a bit like having gold mine on an island and no room left on the ferry to the mainland. Yueh said that's why boosting wire capacity is such an important first step. And the chances of actually convincing companies to make the investment are better when all the stakeholders are talking.

"You have the stakeholders who, by definition, will benefit the most from all of these improvements. And they already have the right of ways," Yueh said.

In Wyoming, a majority of the electrical transmission lines are owned by PacifiCorp, Black Hills Corp. and Basin Electric Powder Cooperative.

Kyle White, vice president of corporate affairs for Black Hills Power, said there's much at stake for Wyoming. First, the state can generate the lowest-cost electricity with its abundant coal reserves. Secondly, it has great wind resources that can add to electrical exports. And it also

stands to gain a lot of temporary jobs in construction and permanent jobs to maintain new power plants.

"Because of (Wyoming's) coal and wind resources, it could benefit a lot of different and diverse areas in the state," said White, who also serves on the newly-formed Wyoming Infrastructure Authority.

Energy reporter Dustin Bleizeffer can be reached at (307) 682-3388 or dzeffer@trib.com.