Electricity pylons (Photo by Getty Images).
Electricity demand in western states is projected to increase 20% during the next decade — double what has been expected, Gov. Greg Gianforte said Monday.
“It’s clear we’ve got to meet this challenge head on to secure affordable, reliable energy for Montana families and businesses,” Gianforte said.
At their initial meeting Monday, the governor asked members of his newly formed energy task force to “dig deep, be creative, cast a wide net.” He asked the group to explore groundbreaking technologies for the state, including nuclear.
Gianforte created the Energy Advisory Council in a Sept. 10 executive order to provide him with short- and long-term recommendations to increase the supply of affordable and reliable energy.
In general, Gianforte said he was tasking the group with providing “actionable” recommendations to “unleash American made energy.”
He said Montana has an “historic opportunity” to make progress with President Donald Trump back in the White House.
The task force, a group of 20 industry representatives, energy experts, large consumers, and legislators, asked how much more energy generation Montana needs, how much transmission capacity is available, and how to turn the page on “negative press” about data centers.
Montana Department of Environmental Quality Director Sonja Nowakowski, chairperson of the task force, said generation has changed in Montana in recent years.
It has more energy capacity but less generation, with the closures of two coal fired plants at Colstrip and opening of “more variable resources,” such as wind, according to her presentation.
Data in the presentation said since 2019, wind capacity has increased 162% and wind generation has increased 93.6%.
But Nowakowski said demand is up even as generation is down — “We need to do something about that.”
And she said not much has changed with transmission in recent years.
Nowakowski said the group had significant expertise, it would have hard conversations during the next year, and she encouraged members to continually think about pushing the Treasure State forward.
“How can we make Montana first? I’m competitive. I want Montana to be first,” Nowakowski said.
She also said she wanted U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and others at the national level “to know Montana is ready and open for business.”
In response to a question from state Sen. Chris Pope, a Bozeman Democrat, about whether reducing demand was part of the discussion, Nowakowski said “everything is on the table,” including energy efficiency.
“The cheapest electron is the one we save,” Nowakowski said.
Just one person appeared to have offered public comment, a written remark a task force member read aloud.
The person said they thought the makeup of task force members leaned toward those who favored fossil fuels and asked the group to consider including representation from the Montana Environmental Information Center.
Nowakowski, however, said the group’s charge in making recommendations included “fuel neutrality,” and she said the governor also had promoted an “all of the above” strategy for energy.
She outlined three topics task force subgroups would focus on — energy generation; growing demand; and transmission and markets.
The themes all three subgroups would consider are consumer perspectives, governance, regional markets, and best practices and innovation.
Gianforte said Montana already is a leader when it comes to energy resources and generation, and it’s ready to do more for producers and consumers, and for affordability and security.
“With our abundant resources and outstanding potential, Montana can and should play a key role in unleashing American energy,” Gianforte said.
