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Made-in-Montana energy means good Montana jobs that on average pay two to three times more than the state average. Montana’s ability to create more good-paying energy jobs is immense. In fact, our state leads the nation in coal deposits. We are the nation’s fifth-largest producer of hydropower, with 23 hydroelectric dams across our state, and fifth in wind energy potential. Montana is at the center stage of the national energy debate and provides the nation a template of a true all-of-the-above energy portfolio. We have coal, natural gas and oil, as well as renewables such as hydro, wind, biomass and

The backburner issue simmering for weeks about the potential closure of Units 1 and 2 of the Colstrip power plant was how the oil refineries, silicon plants and mining companies that buy electricity directly from those units would be affected. Those industry buyers, known in utility jargon as “large customers,” began hinting a few weeks ago of job losses and rising consumer prices for things like gasoline if cheap Colstrip power from Units 1 and 2 went away. Those two units, the oldest and dirtiest in the four-unit Colstrip power complex, face serious challenges. Actions by the two units’ current

The same kind of innovative spirit that helped the United States regain the title of the world’s leader in oil and gas production will also help the industry weather current market downturns, says the chairman and chief executive officer of ConocoPhillips. Over the past decade, horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing have unleashed a flood of new oil and gas production in the United States. Despite a year-long decline in prices, “The U.S. energy renaissance is here to stay,” said Ryan M. Lance, a Montana native. Lance said Thursday that he has witnessed six downturns in the oil and gas industry

Senators Jon Tester and Steve Daines announced last week that a recent graduate of Polson High School was accepted to the prestigious U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. Nicholas Becker, 19, received a full appointment to the Merchant Marine Academy. A Big Arm resident, Becker served on his high school’s Board of Governors, played tennis, lacrosse, and skied throughout his high school career. Tester and Daines spoke with Becker and congratulated him on his appointment. “Nicholas will make Montana and all of America proud as an officer in the United States Merchant Marines,” Tester said. “His stellar academic record and his leadership

The Yellowstone Valley Electric Cooperative’s breakfast, Thursday, March 24, highlighted the need for electricity generators to be innovative and flexible in face of new regulations which will go into effect as the EPA implements the Clean Power Plan in an effort to reduce carbon emissions in the form of CO2, a by-product of coal combustion and contributor to global warming.  Basin Electric Power Cooperative (YVEC’s parent company) is somewhat reluctantly making plans to transition to cleaner methods of electric generation, a step speaker Steve Tomac of Basin Electric said the company was already in the process of doing, but at

BILLINGS — Numerous efforts to squeeze clean-burning fuels from coal have hit the drawing board ever since OPEC started flexing its muscles in the 1970s. After years of research, scientists and engineers have learned that converting coal into liquid and gaseous fuels is expensive and far from environmentally benign. But a different take of clean-coal technology was presented Tuesday during the opening day of the three-day Montana Energy Conference in Billings. The concept, presented by officials from LP Amina, could even help extend the life of the Colstrip coal-fired power plants, while also reducing carbon dioxide emissions and generating valuable

A top railroad executive said Wednesday in Billings that declining oil prices and coal demand have thrust his industry into depths not seen since the Great Recession. Matthew Rose, chairman of Burlington Northern Santa Fe, told The Gazette during the Montana Energy conference that about 4,600 railroad employees are furloughed nationwide, about 10 percent of the workforce. These are roughly the same levels as in 2007 and 2008 when the economy began falling off a cliff, he said. Volumes were down 3 percent in 2015, and Rose said the Fort Worth, Texas-based company — whose energy portfolio is about 30 percent — is