coal

In an unprecedented use of federal authority, President Donald Trump’s administration has invoked emergency powers to force a series of retiring coal plants to stay open.

The largest Montana coal lease sale in more than a decade received a single bid of less than a penny per ton, as Congress opens millions of acres in eastern Montana to possible extraction

About 48,000 acres of federally-owned land in Utah are available for coal-mining operations, a big step in the Trump administration’s plan to increase energy production in the country, particularly fossil fuels.

The Miles City Field Office Resource Management Plan Amendment prevented future coal leasing in the Powder River Basin

Rep. Troy Downing sponsored House Joint Resolution 104, which would nullify a Miles City Field Office RMP amendment issued on Nov. 20 and open up more than 1,745,000 acres of BLM land in eastern Montana to coal leasing.

Montana's Congressional delegation has introduced a measure in Congress that would overturn a Biden administration rule halting any future coal leases on federal land from its Miles City office, which oversees part of the Powder River coal tract.

Jim Morton writes, "The Colstrip plant is an unreliable money pit, and the ones who benefit most from keeping it alive are the corporate shareholders, not us ratepayers who have no choice but to foot the bill."

Eric Nyland writes, "Sen. Steve Daines is showing us that he is someone who will change the law to cater to a corrupt billion-dollar company while ignoring its shady, illegal, and dangerous behavior."

As lawmakers weigh potential of nuclear power in Montana, critics say it would risk community safety and renewables show more promise.

The move to bring on coal is one no other utility in the nation appears to be making, according to NorthWestern’s own executives.