Montana’s renewable energy city coalition grows

Originally published at ILSR.org

For this episode of our Voices of 100% series of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, host John Farrell talks with Helena Sustainability Coordinator Patrick Judge and Citizens Conservation Commission Member Mark Juedeman. Judge and Juedeman supported Helena as the city committed to 100% renewable energy. In making its commitment, Helena has joined Missoula and Bozeman, building a commanding coalition in western Montana.

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Patrick Judge and Mark Juedeman were both drawn to work around sustainability and climate change because of their backgrounds.

Judge, Helena’s Sustainability Coordinator, was born and raised in Helena. His love for natural amenities and professional interest in the physical sciences drive him to make Helena a cleaner, more sustainable place. Moreover, Judge’s experience working on climate change issues allowed him to identify environmental threats to tourism and agriculture.

Similarly, Mark Juedeman’s identity as a Montana native and educational background in geology led him to sustainability work and his role on the Citizens Conservation Commission. From being an early solar power adopter in Louisiana to his experience installing wind at his Montana ranch, Jeudeman’s commitment to Helena’s 100% renewable energy transition is evident in his lived experiences.

Together, Juedeman and Judge have helped Helena advance toward its sustainability goals. Thirty percent of the city’s electricity supply already stems from hydro, wind, and solar energy. By 2030, the City of Helena plans to run on 100% clean electricity community-wide.

Helena’s clean electricity resolution was born from a 2009 Climate Change Action Plan, which drew inspiration from over 40 community recommendations on how to transition Helena to clean energy. More importantly, the 100% clean electricity goal was revitalized by a 2017 citizen conservation board led by Juedeman.

These sustainability efforts, however, have been met with major backlash from local and state officials. In the last five years, Helena has struggled within the confines of:

• Reduced tax credits for conservation and renewable energy
• Additional fees on electric vehicles
• Attacks on net metering and a cap of 50 kilowatts on distributed solar
• Preemption bills to limit the imposition of carbon taxes by local governments

With resistance coming down from the top, Helena community members have responded with grassroots organizing to broaden community support. The city is also working on its own energy efficiency and has also opted into a Property Assessed Clean Energy loan program, which provides zero-interest loans for improvements to energy efficiency or the installation of solar.

Community solar legislation would help make the transition more equitable, says Juedeman, because there is an affordability crisis in Montana and many cannot afford to own their own home. Since there is no state legislation allowing it, Helena has piloted some projects installing solar on affordable housing complexes.

Another challenge to achieving Helena’s renewable energy goals? The regional monopoly utility company: Northwestern Energy. Northwestern Energy has a 220-megawatt coal plant that the company plans to operate until 2042, says Judge, along with plans to build a new 175-megawatt gas plant in the future. It will be difficult for Helena to reach its goals if the utility is serving them with electricity from these generation sources.

On the positive side, Northwestern Energy did hold a 2019 stakeholder convening with leaders from cities including Helena, Missoula, and Bozeman to discuss how the utility can serve their communities, says Judge.

The group became interested in replicating Utah’s 2019 Community Renewable Energy act. However, Northwestern Energy did not think an opt-out model was feasible in Montana. After the stakeholder input, Northwestern Energy is moving forward with an opt-in green tariff program.

See these resources for more behind the story:

• Helena’s Resolution Establishing a Goal of 100% Clean, Renewable Electricity by 2030
• Check out Helena’s Climate Change Action Plan from 2009
• Find out how Helena, Bozeman, and Missoula are teaming up behind a green tariff.
• See Montana’s enormous potential for clean energy generation in our Energy Self Reliant States report from 2020.

For concrete examples of how towns and cities can take action toward gaining more control over their clean energy future, explore ILSR’s Community Power Toolkit.

Explore local and state policies and programs that help advance clean energy goals across the country, using ILSR’s interactive Community Power Map.

This is the 31st episode of our special  Voices of series, and episode 137 of Local Energy Rules, an ILSR podcast with Energy Democracy Director John Farrell, which shares powerful stories of successful local renewable energy and exposes the policy and practical barriers to its expansion.

Local Energy Rules is Produced by ILSR’s John Farrell and Maria McCoy. Audio engineering by Drew Birschbach.

This article originally posted at ilsr.org. For timely updates, follow John Farrell on Twitter, our energy work on Facebook, or sign up to get the Energy Democracy weekly update. 

Featured Photo Credit: Florida Fish and Wildlife via flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)