Editor's note: This report is part of 'Hunting Clean Energy in the West,' a series by Lee Enterprises' Public Service Team Reporter Ted McDermott that examines efforts across the West to meet looming deadlines to decarbonize the region's power grid. Previous articles examined nuclear energy. Upcoming articles will observe hydrogen initiatives and other aspects of this transition.
In 2020, it seemed like those dire predictions were coming true, when two of Colstrip’s four units permanently powered down, after the utilities that owned them, Talen Montana and Puget Sound Energy, said they couldn’t make “the units economically viable.” But the story of what’s happening in Colstrip isn’t one about the nation’s seamless transition away from fossil fuels and to green energy. Instead, what’s happening in Colstrip is indicative of what’s happening as governments and private entities push to end carbon emissions: renewable energy companies are lining up to build wind and solar farms, even as some utilities and communities try to hang onto the jobs, the revenue and the on-demand power that fossil fuels provide.
While the continued demand for coal comes as a relief to Joiner and other local officials, not everyone in Montana is glad to see the stacks of Colstrip continuing to pump carbon into the atmosphere of Eastern Montana. In the push to make that rapid growth possible, states and the federal government have set targets, implemented mandates, created tax credits and pushed other policies designed to incentivize the construction of wind and solar farms. Meanwhile, uncertainty about the future of fossil fuel use, spiking natural gas prices as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and growing international demand for coal have contributed to the declining availability of, and increasing prices for, coal.
The complex dynamics preventing a smooth transition to renewables include concerns about reliability and adequacy as well as issues with infrastructure, timing and jobs. The result, according to Michelle Solomon, a senior policy analyst at Energy Innovation and a lead author of the coal conversion report, is that “there are a lot of barriers to switching from coal to renewables that are keeping coal online.
“We’ll continue to use Colstrip as long as its useful life and as long as it’s a cost-effective resource for our customers,” said Jo Dee Black, a NorthWestern Energy spokesperson. “We expect its useful life to go on for decades.” An aerial view shows Colstrip units 1,2,3 and 4 as well as nearby industrial ponds.
Solar is a great addition to the grid, but probably not a replacement. Grid and associated infrastructure is incredibly important and was built over decades on the backbone of fossil fuels, can’t waive a wand and undo/replace it overnight
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