Montana
Clean and affordable energy advocates petition NEEA board to maintain energy efficiency budget
Clean and affordable energy advocates sent a group letter to the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance board expressing concerns with the depth of proposed budget cuts. Earlier versions of NEEA’s budget and business plan were more consistent with the mission and goals of the organization and did not undercut the organization’s integrity.
Read MoreMontana Standard op-ed: Dam purchase "watershed" moment
Diego Rivas of the NW Energy Coalition and Kyla Maki of the Montana Environmental Information Center explain how NorthWestern Energy’s purchase of 11 hydropower dams from PPL Montana will diversify Montana’s resource mix, protect customers from price risks associated with fossil fuels, and lead to a cleaner and more affordable energy future.
Read MoreNW Energy Coalition conference to feature EPA emission standards panel
The NW Clean & Affordable Energy Conference in Helena, Mont. May 2- 3 will feature a panel on the EPA’s proposed emission standards for existing power plants. This panel will outline EPA’s authority and the guidance the agency is soliciting from states and stakeholders. Panelists will also assess the opportunities for regional coordination on clean energy strategies for meeting the emissions standards.
Read MoreNWEC spring conference to feature energy efficiency panel
Please join us May 2-3 at the NW Clean & Affordable Energy Conference in Helena, Mont. One of panels at the Helena conference will address the challenges and opportunities for increasing energy efficiency in the Northwest. Energy efficiency is now the second-largest resource used to meet customer electricity needs, and meeting all new electricity needs with energy savings is within reach. But troubling clouds are on the horizon.
Read MoreThe Energy Activist Update, Feb. 2014: Defending and advancing clean energy in Northwest state legislatures
NW Energy Coalition staff, members and allies are working to protect our clean energy future in legislative sessions in three of our four Northwest states. The February Energy Activist Update highlights legislative efforts in Idaho, Oregon and Washington. The update also includes information on the upcoming NW Clean & Affordable Energy Conference in Helena.
Read MoreMontana Attorney General should seek more facts, not less
In a Helena Independent Record column, Steve Charter, the newly elected chair of the Northern Plains Resource Council, describes how both Montana and Washington would benefit from a thorough review of the effects of a proposed coal port.
“Recently, Montana’s Attorney General sent a letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the state of Washington urging them not to study a proposed coal port’s impacts on Montana … [The] letter is in sharp contrast to the comments sent by several Montana towns, state legislators, public health boards, and more than 1,000 Montanans who asked that the impacts this coal port would have on Montana be included.”
Read more…
Video: Flathead Electric making use of solar, biomass projects
Flathead Electric Co-op and Stoltze lumber have entered into a 20 year deal to supplement some of FEC’s electricity with power generated from a new biomass boiler.
KPAX has the story of a couple of other projects the co-op is working on which could mean big things for power production in the future…
Read MoreGuest column: Montana needs fair access to renewable energy markets
Earlier this month, NorthWestern Energy officially dedicated its new 40-megawatt wind farm, Spion Kop, near Great Falls. The wind farm is already exceeding expectations and NorthWestern Energy deemed it a “phenomenal” energy resource providing cheap, clean energy for thousands of Montana households.
Spion Kop’s success is a timely reminder of Montana’s ability to contribute to the nation’s clean energy needs. Montana could potentially supply thousands of megawatts of cost-effective, clean energy to the Pacific Northwest, California and the Southwest…
Read the full article at the Bozeman Daily Chronicle.
Read MoreGreat Falls Tribune: Wind at Spion Kop wind farm 'phenomenal'
Wind at NorthWestern Energy’s new 40-megawatt wind farm, called Spion Kop, is “phenomenal,” said John Hines, the regulated utility’s vice president of supply.
Officials with NorthWestern, turbine manufacturer General Electric, developer CompassEnergies and Judith Basin County gathered near a substation to celebrate the completion of the wind farm, which has been operating since December. It’s located 50 miles east of Great Falls.
Read the full article online at the Great Falls Tribune
Read MoreCoalition congratulates Flathead Electric Cooperative and Snohomish County PUD for energy efficiency awards
The NW Energy Coalition would like to congratulate Flathead Electric Cooperative and Snohomish County PUD for receiving a well-deserved Excellence in Energy Efficiency Award from the Bonneville Power Administration. We applaud and appreciate their regional leadership in energy efficiency and a low carbon future!
Read More