By Laura Hatch, Yellowstone Public Radio
NorthWestern Energy submits an Integrated Resource Plan to the Public Service Commission every three years.
Nick Fitzmaurice, an energy transition engineer at the Montana Environmental Information Center, is also part of the stakeholder group for the 2026 resource plan. He said the 332-page draft makes it clear NorthWestern Energy won’t rely on renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power.
“A lot of the reasons lie in how the modeling is structured, and not necessarily because those resources can’t be cost-effective parts of their energy system to meet reliability requirements,” he said. “And really, I think that those resources are really cost-effective and available.”
