skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

SD public defense duties shift from counties to state; SCOTUS appears skeptical of restricting government communications with social media companies; Trump lawyers say he can't make bond; new scholarships aim to connect class of 2024 to high-demand jobs.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The SCOTUS weighs government influence on social media, and who groups like the NRA can do business with. Biden signs an executive order to advance women's health research and the White House tells Israel it's responsible for the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Midwest regenerative farmers are rethinking chicken production, Medicare Advantage is squeezing the finances of rural hospitals and California's extreme swing from floods to drought has some thinking it's time to turn rural farm parcels into floodplains.

Renewable Energy Bill on Governor’s Desk...Again

play audio
Play

Friday, March 20, 2015   

HELENA, Mont. - A bill sitting on Gov. Steve Bullock's desk is one he's seen before. The legislation would allow existing hydropower dams to qualify for incentives under the state's Renewable Energy Standard.

The governor vetoed a similar bill two years ago because of concerns that the move would allow hydro to edge out new projects for other renewable sources such as wind and solar.

Bridger-area farmer Dick Espenscheid depends on solar and geothermal energy for his operation and said he doesn't want to see hydropower hurt the renewable market.

"The future really is pointing towards alternative energy and we need to get aboard," he said. "People really believe that we have to clean up our air. Alternative energy is big and going to get a lot bigger."

The bill, SB 114, was sponsored by Sen. Debby Barrett, R-Dillon, and promoted as an issue of fairness to the hydropower industry. Hydropower is classified by the Environmental Protection Agency as renewable energy.

Espenscheid said the Renewable Energy Standard was created to incentivize new energy development, not existing projects - and some of the hydropower facilities are decades old.

There are other things to think about when it comes to hydropower, Espenscheid said, since there's debate about environmental concerns. He added that there's an abundant amount of solar and wind energy potential not currently being utilized in Montana.

"I think it's just too short of a solution," he said. "The other sources of energy are far less impactful, like solar and wind."

Hydropower facilities do qualify for Renewable Energy Standard incentives when making upgrades. The bill on the governor's desk would expand the offer to existing facilities even without making upgrades.

The text of SB 114 is online at leg.mt.gov.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Iowa families can apply for up to $7,600 a year for private school costs. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

An ethics committee in the Republican-led Iowa House has dismissed a complaint filed by a group of community activists against a state lawmaker for hi…


play sound

Each spring, hundreds of thousands of California high school seniors have to figure out if they can afford to go to college in the fall - and two new …

Health and Wellness

play sound

A health care workforce shortage in New Hampshire is leaving Alzheimer's patients and their families with few options for treatment. Patients facing …


South Dakota ranks 49th in the country for its contribution to indigent legal defense costs, according to a 2023 report from the Indigent Legal Services Task Force. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

South Dakota is creating an Office of Indigent Legal Services after House Bill 1057 passed the Legislature with nearly unanimous support this month…

Social Issues

play sound

This year's high school graduates will be eligible for 14,000 new scholarships offered through Opportunity Next Colorado, a $21 million investment …

The new law will apply only to future sales of Indiana farmland. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

A bipartisan law set to take effect this summer prohibits foreign adversaries from buying Hoosier farmland. The signature of Gov. Eric Holcomb was …

Social Issues

play sound

Today, people across Arizona are voting in the Presidential Preference Election, a chance for registered Democrats and Republicans to choose their …

Environment

play sound

Traffic deaths are trending higher in Minnesota this year after a decline the previous year. Groups pushing for safer roads are convinced a small …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021