We set out to tell the story of electricity in America and visit the sites that are vital to our nation’s reliable supply of energy. This would be an impossible task without visiting the Powder River Basin. After all, this region supplies about 40 percent of the country’s coal. Indeed, Wyoming is America’s biggest coal-producing state.

We visited the Black Thunder Coal Mine, which all by itself provides 8 percent of America’s coal supply.

Two men in world's largest dragline bucket. World's largest dragline bucket in action.

Using the biggest dragline excavator on the planet, Black Thunder cranks out enough coal to load up 25 miles of railroad cars per day.

It’s a surface mine, just like all Powder River Basin mines. No one goes underground – all the action takes place right at the surface.

Once they extract the coal, the land goes through a “reclamation process,” by which the government requires that the mine return the land to the government in the same – or better – shape that they found it. For the most part, the reclaimed land is indistinguishable from the rest of the area. In fact, due to the efforts to attract wildlife, it is greener and more brimming with plants and animals than the surrounding area. Don’t believe us? See for yourself in the video.