While a number of issues separate western Montana’s two candidates for the Public Service Commission, the largest division may lie in their views on clean energy and the state’s transition to the energy future.

Jennifer Fielder, the Republican candidate for District 4 on the PSC, and Democratic candidate Monica Tranel, squared off in a debate Monday hosted by City Club Missoula, where they offered their views on regulation, the free market, monopoly utilities, climate change and “green energy.”

By Martin Kidston

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PSC candidates Fielder, Tranel talk climate, corporations

Solar-plus-storage replaces coal plant in New Mexico, makes carbon-capture retrofit moot

The utility is planning on replacing the San Juan coal-fired station’s 847 MW of capacity with 650 MW of solar generation and 300 MW/1,200 MWh of accompanying energy storage. The new plan all but kills a proposal from San Juan’s owner and the City of Farmington to add a carbon-capture retrofit to the station.

Funding the Next Generation of Efficient, Electric, Grid-Interactive Communities

Department of Energy provides $65 million for “connected communities,” expanding projects to embed clean energy and grid services in new buildings.

From Pilot to Permanent: Green Mountain Power’s Home Battery Network Is Here to Stay

The Vermont utility now controls several thousand Tesla Powerwall batteries sited in customers’ homes. The results have been promising.

City of Billings receives $90,000 energy efficiency incentive from NorthWestern Energy for state-of-the-art energy improvements at wastewater treatment plant

During the last 10 years, the City of Billings implemented 62 energy efficiency projects;
qualifying for $967,050 in energy efficiency incentives from NorthWestern Energy.
These projects resulted in an estimated 5.82 million kWhs saved per year, equating to
about $455,000 in annual electric cost savings.

 

I Fully Converted a Home to Electricity. Here’s How It Worked — and What It Cost

Currently available solar, battery and heat pump technology means every building under two stories with a sunny roof can be a net generator of energy.