But when the construction was done, a lot of people from his community went to work there. They’d blast those power plants to test them and you could drown everything out even in the classroom, kind of startle you when they were starting those big power plants up.Īl Letson: The power plant is in a town called Colstrip, and William was against it from the beginning. William Walksalong: Oh, I remember distinctly all kinds of strange people from all over the country, construction workers. He remembers when they started building it when he was in high school in the seventies. It’s near one of the largest coal seams in the country and one of the largest coal fire power plants in the west. And that, I want to be part of the effort to cut its throat and let it bleed out and let it go away.Īl Letson: William grew up on the northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation in southeast Montana. William Walksalong: They’re like a monster, and its teetering, ready to fall over. The local coal industry has always been a villain in William Walksalong’s life. TranscriptĪl Letson: From the Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX, this is Reveal. Special thanks to reporter Mara Silvers and editor Brad Tyer of Montana Free Press and Yellowstone Public Radio. Reported in partnership with Montana Free Press. Reporter: Jonathan Jones | Producer: Stephen Smith | Editor: Jenny Casas with help from Kate Howard | Additional reporting and research: Amanda Eggert | Fact checker: Nikki Frick | Production manager: Steven Rascón | Original score and sound design: Jim Briggs and Fernando Arruda | Digital producer: Nikki Frick | Episode art: Stephen Smith | Interim executive producers: Taki Telonidis and Brett Myers | Host: Al Letson Watch: What the Hell is Going On With the Colstrip Plant? (Montana Environmental Information Center) Credits Watch: “ Cowboy Poets,” a 1988 film featuring Wally McRae, a cowboy poet and conservationist in southeastern Montana. Listen: Colstrip’s Next Chapter (Shared State podcast from the Montana Free Press, Montana Public Radio and Yellowstone Public Radio) Read: Net Zero by 2050 (NorthWestern Energy) Read: The Coal Cost Crossover 3.0 (Energy Innovation Policy & Technology) Read: Affordable and Reliable Decarbonization Pathways for Montana (Vibrant Clean Energy study for 350 Montana) Read: Gianforte signs bill banning state agencies from analyzing climate impacts (Montana Free Press) He also speaks with NorthWestern’s CEO and looks at other coal communities in transition. He also finds that NorthWestern is planning to build a new methane gas plant on the banks of the Yellowstone River, and the company is being met with resistance from people who live near the site and from state courts.įinally, Jones visits the state’s largest wind farm and speaks with a renewable energy expert, who says Montana can close its coal plants, never build a new gas plant and transition to 100% clean energy while reducing electricity costs for consumers. He meets with plaintiffs involved in a first-of-its-kind youth-led lawsuit who are suing Montana for violating their constitutional right to a “clean and healthful environment.” Jones dives into lobbying records behind a flurry of bills that are keeping the state reliant on fossil fuels. Jones follows the money to the state’s capital, where lawmakers have passed one of the most extreme laws to keep the state from addressing climate change. He also speaks to local ranchers and a tribal official who’ve been working for generations to protect the water and land from coal development. Jones speaks with Colstrip’s mayor about the importance of coal mining to the local community. He learns that the state has signed off on a massive expansion of the coal mine that feeds the plant and that Montana’s single largest power company, NorthWestern Energy, has expanded its stake in the plant, even though it’s the single biggest emitter of greenhouse gas in Montana. It is home to one of the largest coal seams in the country – and one of the largest coal-fired power plants in the West. Reveal’s Jonathan Jones travels to the town of Colstrip in the southeastern part of the state.
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