HELENA, Mont. – The struggle is ramping up over the Colstrip coal-fired power plant and Montana's energy future.

A headline-grabbing measure in the Legislature, nicknamed the Save Colstrip bill, would have allowed the utility NorthWestern Energy to buy a unit of the coal plant without regulatory oversight and pass the costs on to customers.

That bill failed, but House Bill 467 passed. It allows interest rates of 2% to 3% to pay off Colstrip after the plant stops producing energy.

Customers are currently paying more than 8% interest as they pay down the $407 million plant until 2042.

Anne Hedges, deputy director of the Montana Environmental Information Center, says HB 467 could save Montanans $100 million.

"Do customers get stuck with a bill that they shouldn't, or do customers have some type of relief?” she raises. “And this bill is all about providing customers with relief."

Hedges says the lowered interest rate is comparable to refinancing a house and will save money when the plant is no longer operational – likely more than a decade before it is fully paid off.

Gov. Steve Bullock signed HB 467 last week.

NorthWestern Energy CEO Bob Rowe says Colstrip has been a year-round, reliable source of energy. He maintains the Save Colstrip bill was needed to provide financial certainty for the plant.

The Montana Environmental Information Center and Sierra Club counter there could be a faster way to bring down energy costs. They and other groups questioned NorthWestern's $400 million investment in Colstrip a decade ago, since the utility bought that stake for roughly $190 million.

Now, NorthWestern is in the middle of a rate case.

Mike Scott, a senior representative with Sierra Club's Beyond Coal campaign in Montana, says the regulatory commission overseeing the process should consider Colstrip's current value.

"We think it's appropriate that if they want to use this model of how to establish rates that they should take a look at what the value of the plant is now, not what it was 10 years ago,” he states. “And we think that's going to be a dramatic difference, and probably a good cost-savings for Montana ratepayers."

Hedges adds while NorthWestern is passing on costs for an unsustainable coal plant, it also is trying to hike rates for rooftop solar.

With renewables surpassing coal for energy production in the U.S. for the first time in April, Hedges describes Montana as in a struggle for its energy future.

"It is very much about the future of our energy system, because if NorthWestern gets overcompensated for coal and manages to functionally eliminate net-metering, you know where the state's going,” she stresses. “It's going in the opposite direction of every other utility and state in this nation."

Researchers at Iowa State University are taking aim at the huge amount of energy used by data centers, now and in the future. They have developed a material as thin as an atom to reduce power consumption.

A national study showed by 2030, 9% of the country's energy will be consumed by data centers, keeping the internet, AI applications and other technology humming.

Matthew Panthani, associate professor of chemical and biological engineering at Iowa State University, and his team are focused on using light rather than heat to generate power for the data centers sprouting up close to home.

"Iowa seems to be a popular place to build data centers," Panthani observed. "Meta and other companies have built data centers, even in the Des Moines area. They're taking advantage of the relatively low electricity prices afforded by wind energy."

Panthani's lab is focused on developing atom-thin sheets of a silicon-germanium alloy which are stacked in layers and used to create highly energy efficient semiconductors, which can be used in power-hungry data centers.

Using light to transmit data is not new. Companies have used fiber optic technology to transmit light across oceans, for example. But Panthani pointed out doing it on a much smaller scale, such as between components on the computer chips in data centers, is something quite different.

"That's really because there isn't a material that can enable scalable, on-chip light sources," Panthani explained. "The materials that we're developing are intended to have properties, both the manufacturability and properties, that could enable that."

According to the Electric Power Research Institute, the internet's 5.3 billion users can demand as much power as 800,000 households. It will sharply increase this decade, sending the demand even higher and making new technology like this even more important.


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Rising demands for clean energy efficiency are producing a wealth of work opportunities in Illinois. These in-demand jobs are also promoting a healthier environment. According to the Energy.gov report, Energy Facts: Impact of the Investing in America Agenda on Illinois, The Inflation Reduction Act will contribute to job increases by producing $18 billion of investment in clean power generation and storage by 2030. E2 is a nationwide network of business leaders that focuses on environmental and economic policy.

Michaela Preskill, state director of advocacy for E2, said Illinois' "robust and growing" clean energy jobs are driving economic growth.

"Clean energy jobs grew by over 4% last year, and that's eight times faster than the state's overall economy," she said.

Workers manufacturing Energy Star appliances are using advanced materials for the construction and servicing of homes and commercial buildings. These efforts result in cost-effective lighting and HVAC systems, Preskill noted, which saves consumers and homeowners money. The report also claims the Inflation Reduction Act means commercial building owners can receive up to $5 per square foot in tax credits to support energy efficiency improvements.

Clean energy industry watchers predict an 8% growth of employees in Illinois in 2025. Preskill said there is no indication the trend will slow down, but diversity is an issue. The site 'Save-on-energy-dot-com,' says women represent only 22% of workers in the energy sector and 32% in the renewable energy sector. She admits the field is traditionally male, but is optimistic for change.

"It's about 70% male, 30% female in Illinois. We are seeing that more and more females enter year after year. And I think it will slowly become more inclusive. But we got some work to do for sure," she explained.

The International Energy Agency site reports female employees in the energy sector earn nearly 20% less than male workers.

Groups concerned about pollution and climate change are asking Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign a trio of bills dubbed the "make polluters pay" package.

Assembly Bill 1866 would increase fees on 40,000 idle oil wells and accelerate cleanup.

Nayamin Martinez, executive director of the Central California Environmental Justice Network, said right now, companies often pay fees without actually cleaning up "orphan wells."

"The authorities are not proactively going and inspecting these sites," Martinez pointed out. "We have a program that goes to do inspections on active and abandoned uncapped wells, and we have found that many of them are leaking."

The Western States Petroleum Association argued current regulations are sufficient and companies are making progress plugging their idle wells.

A second measure, Assembly Bill 3233, would protect local communities' rights to limit oil drilling. It comes in response to a lawsuit from Chevron, eliminating a part of 'Measure Z' in Monterey County, which would have required companies to phase out oil drilling in that area.

Raquel Mason, senior legislative manager for the California Environmental Justice Alliance, said oil wells leak methane, a potent greenhouse gas, and release other toxic substances into the air and water.

"Those pollutants that are coming off these wells can have different health-harming impacts like respiratory issues, different types of cancer, headaches, nosebleeds," Mason outlined. "We hear about too often from community members who are living near these types of facilities."

A third bill would fine oil companies in the Inglewood Oil Field in Los Angeles $10,000 a month for operating low-producing wells near local neighborhoods.