Supporting made-in-Montana energy

OPINION:

Unleashing made-in-America energy has been a hallmark priority of the conservative movement for years. It bolsters our economy and provides millions of jobs. Most importantly, having strong domestic energy production decreases our reliance on foreign nations and protects our national security. The demand for U.S. energy is expected to grow at least 50% over the next 25 years. It’s critical that we do everything we can to support more made-in-America energy, so we are prepared for this growth in demand and maintain our energy dominance in an increasingly competitive global market and continue to bolster our workforce.

Montana is rich in natural resources and a net supplier of energy to the rest of the nation. We have more recoverable coal than any other state in the U.S. as well as abundant sources of crude oil and natural gas. Montana also has abundant renewable energy like hydropower, which provides the second largest share of electricity generation in our state. However, we struggled under the Biden administration, which caved to the demands of radical environmentalists who cared more about stoking climate alarmism than about actually finding ways to gain access to more baseload energy. We saw critical permits stonewalled and unfair rulings on subjects like EV mandates and carbon reporting, all of which caused us to offload our energy production and rely on imports from Russia and China. Montana’s four coal mines Spring Creek, Rosebud, Bull Mountains, and Absaloka/Big Sky were always under threat of closure by Biden officials in order to pursue their green dream.

Thankfully, President Donald Trump and his administration have rejected environmental hysteria and are focused on passing commonsense policies that increase American energy on all fronts from coal and natural gas to hydro, wind and solar.

Thanks to Montana’s unique geography, hydropower is an affordable and reliable source of baseload power in the Treasure State. Six of our ten major electric power plants run on hydropower. And uniquely, Montana is home to the first tribally owned electric plant in the U.S., on the Flathead River. It’s clear that hydropower is a critical source of energy produced in Montana and powering the nation.

But unfortunately, the relicensing program for hydropower dams can take nearly a decade- a product of D.C. bureaucracy that slows the process and harms Montana as a result.

Earlier this year I introduced S. 1020 with Sen. John Fetterman (D-Penn.), as well as my Republican colleagues Sens. Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy of Louisiana, Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), and Tim Sheehy (Mont.), to approve six-year extensions for hydropower projects licensed before 2020. The bill will end construction delays due to supply chain shortages and keep these critical projects running.

I am confident that under the leadership of President Trump and his administration, and with a Republican majority in the U.S. Senate, we will be able to get these important permitting reforms in place. I look forward to working with my colleagues to further made-in-America energy and increase effective energy production.

• Sen. Steve Daines is a member of the Senate Energy and National Resources Committee and a leading voice in the Senate for commonsense energy policy.