Noah Rott, noah.rott@sierraclub.org
Missoula, MT - President Trump signed an executive order promoting coal power under the continued false pretense of an energy emergency yesterday, calling for exemptions of environmental reviews, more leasing in the Powder River Basin, and keeping expensive coal plants open to power data centers.
The decision comes within a few weeks of public hearings for NorthWestern Energy's recent rate case, where the company requested drastically increasing electric costs to pay for fossil fuel investments. The monopoly utility claims Colstrip is necessary for grid reliability, despite internal data showing the utility has a large electric surplus and Colstrip has consistent outages.
In fact, an independent study by RMI recently found that alternative energy portfolios that phase out Colstrip investments could lead to over $1 billion in savings. Renewable energy costs 30 percent less on average than coal for the same energy output.
"This move by the Trump administration threatens to raise energy prices on working families and small businesses, bolstering NorthWestern Energy's profits and stripping our environmental and health protections," said Montana Sierra Club Climate and Energy Organizer David Merrill. "We will continue to push back on this latest hit to our pocketbooks as NorthWestern Energy continues its embrace of expensive fossil fuels including the unreliable and costly Colstrip coal-fired power plant."
Coupled with tariffs and support for Liquified Natural Gas exports, Trump's policies are expected to increase energy prices. Last week, NorthWestern Energy and Talen sent a request to the Trump administration to exempt Colstrip from clean air regulations. Read Sierra Club's press release on the executive order here.
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.