The rise of renewable energy sources poses life-changing questions for Montana’s coal country. The town of Colstrip has a century’s dependence on coal production. The Crow and Northern Cheyenne Indian reservations also share the region’s Powder River Basin coal deposits. But those three communities face different directions as the energy economy reacts to billions of dollars in new federal investments for wind and solar generating projects, mine and pollution cleanup, job training and economic development. Around the world, coal ranks worst among energy sources for producing greenhouse gases that lead to disrupted rain and snow patterns, longer wildfire seasons and other impacts from global warming. Part III explores the distinctive cultures and aspirations of the Crow, Colstrip and Northern Cheyenne communities as waves of change buffet traditional coal jobs and introduce new but untested opportunities to join a renewable energy transition.Tom Mexicancheyenne remembers his father bringing chunks of coal from a little open-pit mine near Lame Deer to heat his home.“It was operated by a non-Indian guy, and I don’t think he owned the land, but the tribe just allowed it,” Mexicancheyenne said of growing up on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation in the late 1950s. “Dad probably just paid him with pocket money. Coal wasn’t valued the way it is today. He’d load some in the pickup and I remember him breaking it into big chunks. One big chunk would pretty much heat the house all night.”Today, coal mined from the ground around Lame Deer helps heat and cool the homes of 400,000 Montana utility customers, as well as communities in Oregon, Washington and California. There’s no visible trace of the little coal mine on Soldier Gulch Road that heated the Mexicancheyenne home, although the road itself is topped with scoria — a bright red crust formed when burning underground coal seams cook the surrounding clay.Montana’s coal economy traces itself back to the Northern Pacific Railroad, which started digging coal for its locomotives in 1924. Its Native American heritage dates many millenia deeper than that. But both White and Indian communities in this southeast section of the state face a future where coal has lost its customers and a new energy industry seems uncertain.“There are people here very loyal to Colstrip and coal,” Mexicancheyenne said. “They flat-out don’t want nothing to do with solar. You mess with their livelihood, of course they’re going to be angry. But there’s very few younger people going to work there now.” As a tribe, the Northern Cheyenne opted not to develop their 444,000 acres of the Powder River Basin coal, which is part of the largest single coal deposit in the Lower 48 states. Corporate prospectors surveyed the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in the 1970s. Their findings indicated about 23 billion tons of coal lay underground. But referendums on the reservation prompted the tribal government to turn down offers of mine development.A dragline at the Rosebud Mine near Colstrip prepares to scoop 80 cubic yards of overburden in its bucket to expose new coal seams. Credit: Ben Allan Smith / MissoulianInstead, hundreds of Northern Cheyenne chose to work outside the reservation at the Rosebud mines and power generating station in Colstrip, 20 miles to the north. Mexicancheyenne was never one of them, although he went to school in Colstrip. Instead, he worked in the tribal forestry program before spending 20 years in the Northern Cheyenne Tribal Health Department. About 20 miles to the northwest of Lame Deer, the Crow Indian Tribe did decide to go for coal. They partnered with Westmorland Resources, one of the nation’s largest coal operators, to open the Absaloka strip mine in 1977. In its heyday, it produced 6 million tons of coal a year and its revenues underpinned the lion’s share of the tribal government’s employees. A 2021 analysis by the Plenty Doors Community Development Corp noted that the Absaloka mine provided nearly half the Crow Tribe’s non-federal income. As operator Westmoreland Resources cut back, “revenue from the mine had fallen to such an extent that the Tribe laid off 1,000 of its 1,300 employees in 2017,” according to the report.Last April, the Absaloka mine shipped its last railcar of coal and sent its remaining 100 workers — most of them Crow — home. However, Westmoreland Resources hasn’t declared the mine closed. A sign near Crow Agency in August 2024. Credit: Ben Allan Smith / MissoulianOver in Colstrip’s Rosebud mine fields, the draglines continue to uncover new coal seams and generating Units 3 and 4 still feed upwards of 1.4 gigawatts into the regional power grid. Together, they employ more than 600 people. But Units 1 and 2 shut down in 2020 after market forces made their electricity unprofitable. And most of the Rosebud mine’s out-of-state customers plan to exit their contracts in 2025 or shortly thereafter as their state regulators demand cleaner energy sources.That puts big changes on the horizon of this landscape an hour southeast of Billings.“A lot of people think coal is still the future,” said Sharon Stewart-Peregoy, a professor at Little Big Horn College on the Crow Reservation and a Democratic state legislator. “Solar battery life is still problematic. We don’t have a smart grid to handle wind power. I haven’t heard anything about federal job training opportunities. There are no engineers here to design or build the infrastructure projects from the IRA.”Stewart-Peregoy referred to the Inflation Reduction Act, which has hundreds of billions of federal dollars for energy-related projects on tribal lands. The changes that could come with that money collide with a range of cultural obstacles, both human and economic. Different peoples want and value different things. And in a state where big industries have almost-human personalities, some attitudes are lodged deep in the dirt.Sharon Stewart-Peregoy is a professor at Little Big Horn Community College on the Crow Reservation and a Democratic state legislator. “A lot of people think coal is still the future,” Stewart-Peregoy said. “Solar battery life is still problematic. We don’t have a smart grid to handle wind power.” Credit: Ben Allan Smith / MissoulianPICK UP THE PHONE“The question is how does the state, the feds and Westmoreland help the Crow access all those billions sitting out there waiting for tribal communities,” said Anne Hedges of the Montana Environmental Information Center, an advocacy group for environmental protection. “The Energy Infrastructure Reinvestment Act, which is part of the Inflation Reduction Act, has $11.7 billion for loan financing, and that’s just for loans. There’s $75 million specifically for tribal energy loan guarantees. The problem is there’s so many, it’s really difficult to know where to start. And all of it needs to be used in the next couple years.”That spending will be focused through the Biden administration’s Justice 40 Initiative. In his first week in office, Biden issued an executive order “that 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain Federal climate, clean energy, affordable and sustainable housing, and other investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.” All seven Indian reservations in Montana and most of the surrounding counties bordering the reservations are included in the initiative. Nationwide, the Energy Infrastructure Reinvestment Program has $250 billion in loan guarantees ready to back up those projects.Horses on a ranch in Lame Deer in August 2024. As a community, the Northern Cheyenne opted not to develop their portion of the Powder River Basin coal, which is part of the largest single coal deposit in the Lower 48 states. Credit: Ben Allan Smith / MissoulianHowever, it’s a long way from the White House to Montana coal country. A recent study by Bozeman-based Headwaters Economics shows the problem: Many parts of the nation lack capacity to participate in these federal opportunities.For example, Billings ranks among the top 4% of the nation for staffing, resources and expertise to engage with federal programs. It has a publicly funded head of planning, 89% of the community has broadband internet access, 8% of families live below the poverty level and only 7% lack health insurance.The sovereign nations of the Crow and Northern Cheyenne tribes, 70-odd miles away, fall much further down the list, in the 59th and 94th percentiles, respectively. Both lack planning offices (although they do have extensive federal connections through agencies such as the Bureau of Indian Affairs). Both have almost a quarter of their families living below the poverty level and lacking health insurance. Less than three-quarters of their residents have broadband access.“You have to know that mundane stuff to get stuff done,” Stewart-Peregoy said. “It would be nice if you just stuck a shovel in the ground and voila — a building pops up.” Montana coal country communities compared Colstrip Crow Reservation Northern Cheyenne Reservation Workers aged 16+ 1,230 2,714 1,614 Unemployment rate 5% 21% 19% Median age 42 29 23 Median household income $87,300 $51,300 $57,200 Portion of workforce — in mining 24% 16% 10% — in education 32% 31% 36% — in public administration 4% 14% 23% Source: U.S. Census Bureau KICK-START THE ENGINEWhen the Montana Power Co. started building two new generating plants in Colstrip in 1981, residents there recalled seeing 15 to 20 new trailer homes rolling into town every week to house the workers as the population ballooned to nearly 10,000. Despite all the federal incentives and global pressure to develop renewable energy, a similar workers’ boom hasn’t materialized today.For example, 30 miles southwest of Stewart-Peregoy’s office in Crow Agency stands the 525-foot-tall Yellowtail Dam. It pulls 250 megawatts out of the Bighorn River. A wind farm proposed on tribal land near its foot could produce an estimated 150-250 megawatts more. Even better, the wind farm could power pumps that push water back over the dam, increasing generation capacity storage for when the wind isn’t blowing.The Yellowtail Dam near Fort Smith pulls 250 megawatts out of the Bighorn River. A proposed solar/pumped storage project near the dam has been stalled for a decade. Credit: Ben Allan Smith / Missoulian“There’s a ton of money out there, but the tribes don’t have people in place to apply for these grants,” said attorney John Meyer, who represents several Crow families that are trying to put the Yellowtail wind project together. “There’s a gap between the people who apply for them and the money. But people need to start talking with the Crow. They have amazing potential to lower the energy costs for everyone in Montana with their wind energy.”But just because Yellowtail Dam is there doesn’t mean a new electricity generator can simply patch into the power line and light up houses. Montana’s existing transmission network is virtually maxed out, leaving little room for new players to add to the supply.“They haven’t been able to move on it,” said former Crow Tribal Chairman Cedric Black Eagle. “There’s not enough interest to put that on the line at NorthWestern Energy or Bighorn Electric. There are other wind and solar projects, but they’re not moving forward.”That has consequences at the consumption end too. Earlier this year, REC Silicon’s Butte facility had to close a major production line because it couldn’t get affordable electricity. The company produces polysilicon, a foundational component of computer chips, and employs about 300 workers in Montana’s “Mining City.”NorthWestern Energy, which provides power and oversees much of the transmission infrastructure in Montana, has publicly noted its grid “is being pushed to its limits” without expanded capacity. Projects like the North Plains Connector would expand the sources of electricity available to Montana customers. But it would also crack open the mostly monopoly market NWE has controlled. New generating facilities and multistate transmission lines dilute local utility economics.A solar panel array outside the Northern Cheyenne Tribal School in Busby provides electricity for the school, but has not been able to add its generation capacity to the regional power grid. Credit: Ben Allan Smith / MissoulianPart of Montana’s lagging infrastructure reflects the past decade of relatively low or no growth in United States electrical demand. Effective technological pushes to provide more energy-efficient appliances and industrial processes have discouraged utilities from expanding their capacity.That’s abruptly changed. The proposed energy expansion in the Inflation Reduction Act alone is expected to require an additional 10,000 miles of high-capacity power lines a year to triple the country’s existing transmission capacity. Add to that the proposed demands of the artificial intelligence revolution (an AI query to a service such as ChatGPT requires 10 times as much electricity to process as a typical Google search) and the growth trend looks exponential.INERTIAColstrip Mayor John Williams works in a new City Hall paid for by property tax revenue from the Colstrip power plant, which is sited inside the city limits. He has led this town of 2,300 residents and 23 municipal parks since 1999.“Most people associate energy with their home — the lights, stove, stuff like that,” Williams said. “But the largest residential use of electricity is water and sewer. When you turn on the water faucet, the last thing you think about is electricity. That’s the biggest cost I pay as mayor. And as mayor, I want to keep that cost as affordable as can be.”Colstrip Mayor John Williams outside City Hall in August 2024. “Most people associate energy with their home — the lights, stove, stuff like that,” Williams said. “But the largest residential use of electricity is water and sewer. When you turn on the water faucet, the last thing you think about is electricity. That’s the biggest cost I pay as mayor. And as mayor, I want to keep that cost as affordable as can be.” Credit: Ben Allan Smith / MissoulianAnd for Williams, that means staying with coal. The city pays the bills for municipal water pumps and sewage treatment clarifiers. And the tax revenue flowing from the mine and power plant mean Colstrip can skip local mill levies for many public services. “Everything here is related to energy,” Williams said. “It’s centered around the power plants and the mines. There’s talk of small modular nuclear energy coming, but that’s a number of years down the road for Colstrip.”There’s also talk of capturing rare-earth elements from the generating plant’s smokestacks, and becoming a service center for a growing number of wind farms and power transmission lines. Colstrip could evolve from a coal hub to an energy hub, serving green and traditional power sources.The growing electricity demand of internet data centers to power artificial intelligence services has many energy forecasters predicting coal plants like Colstrip’s could remain operating even as their raw material costs stay more expensive than alternatives. ABOUT THIS SERIES Part I of this four-part series takes readers across the landscape shared by the Northern Cheyenne, Crow and Colstrip residents who live above the United States’ largest coal reserve, and lays out the challenges and uncertainties entangled in envisioning a new energy economy. Part II catalogs the unprecedented flood of tax dollars flowing into Montana’s coal country, and the reactions of residents presented with these opportunities in an election year. Billions of dollars in tax incentives, loan guarantees and direct aid to families await takers, but many in southeast Montana feel leery of the complicated processes. Part III explores the distinctive cultures and aspirations of the Crow, Colstrip and Northern Cheyenne communities as waves of change buffet traditional coal jobs and introduce new but untested opportunities to join a renewable energy transition. Part IV, publishing Oct. 24, presents a visual tour of Montana’s coal country and the people and places that have grown up around it. “It used to be the transition from coal to nuclear,” said Jim Atchison, director of the Southeastern Montana Development Corporation in Colstrip. “Now we’re hearing coal and nuclear because of the increase in demand from AI.”On the sidewalk outside Colstrip City Hall, high school students have painted bright yellow horseshoes representing the athletic Colts and Fillies. But they also look like the letter Omega — the last letter of the Greek alphabet denoting the end of a series or sequence.Energy aside, Williams sees a new horizon coming at his town. So he’s eager to talk about its amenities — the parks, the municipal swimming pool, the big-game hunting — as draws to retirees seeking affordable homes. Colstrip’s median age is 42, four years older than the national median. Many of its experienced workers will be close to retirement before any nuclear power plant can employ them. Meanwhile, the Crow Indian Reservation median age is 29. Northern Cheyenne’s is 23. Those young and growing workforces would need training and incentives to find jobs building wind turbine towers or wiring solar battery storage systems. The hunt is already on. Highway billboards around Billings plead for welders, heavy-equipment drivers and engineers. A truck hauling the blade for a wind turbine stretched across the entire parking lot of a rest stop along Interstate 90.The transport facility for the Absaloka mine sits idle after shipping its last loads of coal in April 2024. More than 100 mine workers lost their jobs, while the Crow tribal government lost financial support for more than 1,000 employees. Credit: Ben Allan Smith / MissoulianAmong the opportunities nestled in the Inflation Reduction Act is $250 million to help tribal colleges both expand their job training programs and add renewable energy resources to their campuses. That could turn Little Big Horn College and Chief Dull Knife College into new-energy economy hubs for the Crow and Northern Cheyenne reservations, respectively. But it’s not as simple as just adding money. At Little Big Horn College, Sharon Stewart-Peregoy looks at the construction skills building that was badly damaged in last winter’s deep freeze. Workers were still replacing ruined flooring and walls in August.“We haven’t heard anything about job-training opportunities so far,” Stewart-Peregoy said. “Right now, we can take 10 students each in our carpentry and electricity jobs programs. We need more classroom space.”While those trade jobs have high demand and pay big wages, they don’t come with the stability of a community-anchoring coal mine or power plant. Those workers would have lots of business adding solar panels to rooftops and stringing transmission lines for a few months. But once those tasks are complete, they’ll have to get in their trucks and migrate to the next place in the nation that needs renewable energy upgrades. Renewable energy generators don’t need much daily upkeep. There are no wind farms with parking lots. For people like Tom Mexicancheyenne, that signifies a time to change thinking.“A lot of it has to do with our belief as Indian people that we don’t own the land,” Mexicancheyenne said. “It takes care of us as long as we take care of it. On paper, the way society establishes maps and drawings, you say ‘this is what I own.’ But when you die, do you take it with you?“We had no maps and drawings. We had territories we considered the places we roamed. And if we crossed into any of the other areas, there were usually battles.”Editor’s note: John Meyer, who represents several families working on the Yellowtail wind project, is married to Montana Free Press reporter Amanda Eggert, who did not participate in the reporting or editing of this article.This three-month investigation was supported by a Kozik Environmental Justice Reporting grant funded by the National Press Foundation and the National Press Club Journalism Institute. The series was produced by reporter Rob Chaney and Missoulian photographer Ben Allan Smith in collaboration with Montana Free Press. Tom Lutey contributed research.The post The future of coal country: Collision of cultures and choices appeared first on Montana Free Press.