While Gordon does believe that the numbers for the next two years will present some challenges, he was reluctant to speculate on what sort of deficit the state will face, particularly with the October report from the Consensus Revenue Estimating Group still two weeks from release.

“We have reason to believe coal volumes are still pretty high, so we don’t necessarily anticipate seeing as serious a decline as we might have expected with all the bankruptcies and so on,” he said.

In the long-term, however, the state’s revenue picture is bleak. Throughout the summer, the Wyoming Legislature’s Joint Committee on Revenue has been working to find ways to broaden the state’s revenue streams, so far balking at all but the smallest solutions. At the same time, Gordon’s Energy Futures Modeling Group has submitted a number of pessimistic early scenarios for the state’s revenue outlook in the future, leaving him to contemplate just how much longer the barrage of negativity from fossil fuel wary states like Oregon and Washington can last.

“It’s my view that we are entering a new period in our state’s history, and as that fully matures, we get a better understanding how long-standing these pushes for renewable energy are and how that affects things like our revenue picture,” Gordon said.