Energy and Climate Change

Advocates for solar power in Utah were catching their breath Friday after receiving word that state regulators have approved a settlement intended in part to preserve the viability of the state’s solar industry.

While plowing ahead with $3.5 billion Wyoming wind farm, utility will now solicit proposals for building solar power projects in Utah — with urging from state regulators.

State code requires people to connect their homes to the local electric grid – and when parts of it were damaged after the hurricane, even those homeowners with solar power were legally obliged to sit in the dark.

All of this serves as a reminder that, despite the politics of the moment, solar energy continues to rapidly become more cost effective and accessible, paving the way for a cleaner energy future.

Montana’s average temperatures are increasing, mountain snowpacks are declining, large wildfires are more frequent, and all that is expected to continue in the coming decades, according to a study of climate change within Montana released Wednesday.

A utility coalition argues that new trade barriers will undercut the strength of the entire U.S. electricity system.

In the last six years, dozens of Japanese towns have worked to decentralize their power generation and storage systems, with many capable of powering themselves for days without sucking power from the conventional grid

Most of the world’s human population, and the health of ecosystems across the planet, could face an existential threat by the end of the century if rapid, forceful action is not taken to combat climate change.

Ancient technology could be used to level electricity prices for renewables.

Last June, Gov. Steve Bullock released a "blueprint" for the state’s energy future, which called for Montana to double that by 2025. Instead, it happened in less than two years.