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.
Latest 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.…
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MORE ENERGY REPORTING
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.
NorthWestern Energy pulls preapproval application for natural gas plant
NorthWestern Energy, the South Dakota-based utility company that supplies power to approximately two-thirds of Montana’s residents, has decided to withdraw its application for PSC preapproval of a new natural gas plant in Laurel. The company will now build the plant on an accelerated timeline and seek to recoup its costs through the normal ratemaking process.
Ratepayers will get day in court over utility pre-approval
A district court judge has ruled that three Missoula residents and climate advocacy group 350Montana can proceed with their challenge to a 2003 state law that guarantees NorthWestern Energy can recoup costs from planned power-producing assets.
Federal oil and gas leasing program back in play in Montana
The federal government is moving forward with oil and gas leasing on 6,277 acres of Bureau of Land Management property in Montana following a judicial order directing the Department of the Interior to resume lease sales on federal lands.
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