Montana Economic Development

The requests for proposals issued Tuesday covered two areas _ one with 1,280 acres split into two sections in Glacier County and another with 4,900 acres spread over 17 parcels in Glacier and Toole counties.

"There is new business activity here, which is surprising because it’s not really happening anywhere else yet."

"We need to be aware of what the competition is doing, what are the cutting edge ideas and what other communities are doing to attract private investment."

Montana and other states in the West could wind up being the unintended beneficiaries of an aggressive push to decrease fossil fuel use in California, industry representatives and others say.

“Montana is lucky to have so many energy resources that can drive economic growth in the state. Our coal reserves are one such resource – these funds will help expedite development of coal to liquids technology that can reduce our dependence on foreign oil and create jobs here at home.”

The report Opportunities for Energy Technology Program Graduates in Montana’s Energy Industry has been released! It identifies six broad categories of job opportunities for graduates: (1) renewable installers, (2) wind farm developers/operators, (3) renewable component manufacturers/suppliers; (4) energy efficiency companies; (5) utilities/co-ops/power wholesalers, and (6) power plants/generators.

This collaboration will catalyze the process of connecting U.S. companies and communities with opportunities to increase exports and attract foreign direct investment (FDI), with a particular emphasis on advancing the green economy and creating jobs in the U.S.

We’d like to thank Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., and his staff for organizing such a professional and productive experience. It was amazing to see such a distinguished an influential group of leaders assembled together for the end goal of job creation in Montana.

Sen. Max Baucus recently flexed his economic muscle, and showed why having a senator with seniority is a big boost for a small-population state like Montana.

Baucus is following up on the successes of his jobs summit by asking members of the public and summit attendees to share questions and ideas by going to http://www.montanaeconomicsummit.org and clicking on the section titled “Submit a Question.”