A southeast Montana wind farm would generate more than $700,000 for Montana schools over the next three decades, according the Department Natural Resources and Conservation.
Montana and Wyoming find themselves increasingly isolated in what will ultimately be futile attempts to prop up a declining coal industry that seems doomed to go down in a flurry of ill-advised legislation and expensive lawsuits.
Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte recently signed a pair of bills intended to bolster future prospects for the beleaguered Colstrip power plant by essentially forcing unwilling out-of-state majority co-owners of the plant to invest in costly repairs for the aging generating facilities. A pair of those companies immediately filed a lawsuit in federal court contending the bills unconstitutionally interfere with a private business contract.
Wyoming, meanwhile, is suing other states that are cutting off coal they import from Wyoming. That state’s legislature has appropriated more than $1 million just to pay for those lawsuits.