Discovery Ski Area goes solar
Discovery Ski Area anticipates a new solar array supported by a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant will offset the electricity demand for one of its primary chair lifts by 70% — and shave $11,000 off the business’ annual power bill. Funding available to support such projects has increased substantially since Congress passed the Inflation Reduction…
Latest ENERGY Reporting
Melville ranch adds solar, joins growing number in Montana taking advantage of federal grants
From the roof of J Bar L’s barn, a glint of glass reflected from where newly installed solar panels convert sunlight into electricity for powering lights, running power tools and pumping water to stock tanks for the little over a thousand cows that will winter on their ranch in Melville, north of Big Timber.
Montana attorney general urges the EPA to scrap CO2 rule aimed at the energy sector
In a 55-page letter dated Aug. 8, the signatories argued that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is overstepping its authority by imposing strict carbon dioxide standards on the energy sector. The EPA has described the rule as an effort to safeguard public health and eliminate 617 million tons of atmosphere-warming carbon dioxide emissions from one…
The Battle for Clean Energy in Coal Country
Montana has a long history of making money by extracting and exporting its natural resources, namely coal. State politicians and Montana’s largest electricity utility company seem set on keeping it that way.
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How the 68th Legislature shaped Montana’s energy policy
As the dust settles on the 2023 Legislature, Montana Free Press takes a look at the proposals likely to shape the state’s energy future for decades to come. Prominent themes include local control, the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions, and lawmakers’ frustration with the judicial branch.
NorthWestern Energy’s ‘historic’ rate increase request
The week before the Public Service Commission was set to hold a hearing on NorthWestern Energy’s proposed $120 million electricity and natural gas rate increase, the utility company announced it had reached a settlement agreement with four parties previously opposed to its proposal. As a result, Montana’s elected, all-Republican utility board spent much of last week…
What was in the 1993 State Energy Policy, and why did lawmakers repeal it?
Shortly after House Bill 170, a measure titled “repeal state energy policy,” passed along party lines last month, Gov. Greg Gianforte signed it into law. With Gianforte’s signature, a 30-year-old piece of legislative guidance outlining a vision for the state’s energy future will disappear from Montana Code Annotated. So, what was in the State Energy Policy,…
Yellowstone County judge revokes Laurel gas plant permit
A Yellowstone County judge has revoked the air quality permit that the state issued for a gas plant NorthWestern Energy is building in Laurel, effectively halting construction of the project.
PSC greenlights NorthWestern Energy’s corporate restructuring plan
NorthWestern Energy, Montana’s largest monopoly utility, has asked government regulators to separate its operations in Montana from its operations in Nebraska and South Dakota. The investor-owned utility said the plan will provide regulators with a more focused look at its finances and serve Montana customers by insulating them from operations in other states.
NorthWestern Energy to increase ownership share in Colstrip
NorthWestern Energy said Monday it will acquire Washington-based utility Avista’s ownership stake in the aging Colstrip coal power plant, a move the company said would keep the plant in operation through the end of the decade.
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MORE ENERGY REPORTING
Groups appeal Badger-Two Medicine oil and gas lease decision
A Nov. 2 appeal represents the latest chapter in a decades-long saga over energy development in an area of the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest that features prominently in Blackfeet cultural and spiritual traditions.
NorthWestern pitches utility regulators on ‘reliability rider’
NorthWestern Energy is asking for a “reliability rider” that it describes as a “more efficient regulatory alternative” to a rate case process. It says other states have implemented similar cost-recovery mechanisms and describes it as part of the company’s effort to secure “reliable, safe energy service” for its customers. Critics of the proposal say the…
Environmental groups sue DEQ over coal mine expansion
In their July 26 lawsuit, the Montana Environmental Information Center and the Sierra Club argue that Westmoreland Rosebud Mining, LLC’s proposal to expand Rosebud Mine into the headwaters of Lee Coulee would exacerbate climate change impacts ranging from shrinking snowpacks and increasing wildfire activity to crop losses, forest die-offs and wildfire smoke-induced air quality declines.…
Company gets OK for $253 million wind farm, energy storage in central Montana
Last month, Stillwater County approved two phases of a wind farm that will incorporate large batteries for storing energy. Construction on the project is set to begin this summer and employ 175 workers.
Judge strikes pre-approval statute that bestowed ‘exclusive and lucrative financial benefit only on NorthWestern’
A Missoula judge struck down a law that granted NorthWestern Energy reimbursement for new energy-generating assets from customers. In a May 6 opinion, District Court Judge Jason Marks deemed the pre-approval statute passed by the Montana Legislature in 2003 unconstitutional because it applies only to NorthWestern.
BLM releases 3,400 acres for oil and gas leasing in Montana and North Dakota
The reinstatement of lease auctions for oil and gas drew suspicion from industry groups and advocates, frustration from environmental groups.
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