In The News

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

The Montana Energy 2016 kicked off today in Billings, and many political and business leaders attended the event.  The three day occasion will feature panel discussions and keynote addresses from some of the industry’s top experts. The summit features an all-encompassing look at Montana’s energy potential. “We need made in America energy, not made in the Middle East energy. We don’t need these Washington D.C. regulations that are defining our future here in Montana, instead of letting Montanans define that. And we work together to find a truly Montana solution,” said Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont.  The event will continue tomorrow

(MTN News-Helena) Senator Steve Daines continued his statewide “Made in Montana” energy tour this morning with a stop at the Hauser Dam. Daines is using the tour to criticize clean energy regulations that he says will cost Montana jobs and affordable energy. He says Montana has a diverse energy portfolio and he intends to keep it that way. Daines also says hydro-electric facilities like Hauser are great sources of reliable and low-cost energy production which are under attack. The senator wants to push back against the EPA’s proposed clean energy regulations while protecting and promoting Montana energy development. Daines is

U.S. Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) visited with welding students and instructors on Wednesday at Great Falls College-MSU during his state-wide “Made in Montana” energy tour.  The 10 days on the road focus on the importance of producing local energy while promoting Montana’s future jobs in related fields including coal, oil, and natural gas.  Daines says Montana’s economic goal is to employ and maintain in-state workers with two-year degrees and certificates like the welding program offered at Great Falls College-MSU.  Daines says trade programs such as welding can offer students smaller amounts of personal debt after graduating while providing the training and knowledge necessary to find

With the future of the Colstrip Power Plants now in question, U.S. Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) is taking his energy fight on the road on a statewide tour to promote what he calls “Made in Montana Energy.” The Republican kicked off his 10 city tour Monday in Laurel at the CHS Refinery on Monday, and on Wednesday, he visited KRTV. Daines said his goal is to underscore the importance of Montana’s energy and how losing Colstrip will impact the state’s economic future.  “It would be devastating to our state. It’s a loss of 7,000 jobs. It’s a loss of $500 million

The first ever Congressional office opened in Sidney March 22. The office of Senator Steve Daines will be staffed by Sidney native Nate Williams. Graduating from Sidney High School in 2004, Williams enlisted in the United States Air Force, serving for six years. After three overseas deployments he enrolled at the University of Montana, graduating with degrees in economics, political science, and a minor in Arabic.  The new office will allow Daines to better serve eastern Montana by operating in one of the region’s towns. Services will include internships for students, help with federal agencies such as the Social Security Office

A Montana oil refinery says it will lose a key power supplier if Colstrip is shuttered. CHS Inc., which refines oil in Laurel, gets more than half its power from Colstrip Power Plant, which faces an uncertain future as power companies in the Pacific Northwest prepare to dump coal-generated electricity and tighten pollution controls under the Clean Power Plan to address climate change. It was the Clean Power Plan that Patrick Kimmet, Laurel Refinery vice president cited Monday while meeting with U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont. “We are reviewing the potential effects of the Clean Power Plan,” Kimmet said. “But