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NorthWestern Energy (NASDAQ:NWE) said Friday it will appeal and seek an immediate stay of a Montana district court judge’s decision to vacate the state’s air quality permit for construction of the Yellowstone County Generating Station.
The Montana Department of Environmental Quality failed during its environmental review to assess greenhouse gas emissions from the Laurel, Montana, power plant, the judge said in the ruling.
When the agency issued the air quality permit for the project in 2021, it determined there would be no significant effect on the environment and thus only needed an environmental assessment rather than a more robust environmental impact statement.
“This ruling appears to require new criteria to be analyzed, and jeopardizes reliable service for our Montana customers during critical times when customer energy demand is high, the coldest nights and the hottest days, typically times when renewable resources are generating little or no energy,” NorthWestern (NWE) said.
NorthWestern (NWE) said earlier this week it reached a settlement agreement in its Montana electric and natural gas regulatory rate review.
