Policy & Advocacy

This Legislative Session was challenging, to say the least. The pace and intensity was unlike any in recent memory, and opposition to renewable energy development continued to be deeply entrenched. Rooftop solar and small-scale renewables emerged from the session mostly intact, but not without their share of losses. One of those losses is the Alternative Energy Systems Tax Credit. In the early days of the session we worked on a bipartisan interim committee bill (HB17, Rep. Hamilton) to help lower- and moderate-income Montanans more easily access solar and wind by making the tax credit fully refundable. That concept didn’t gain traction and the bill died, but the credit itself survived – until SB399 (Sen. Hertz) was introduced. SB399 hand-picked winners and losers among tax credits. The targeted losers included rooftop…

April 29, Update: HB448 was tabled in a Select Conference Committee meeting. MREA engineered a last-ditch effort to try and preserve the good parts of the bill, but that effort narrowly failed. The bill was then tabled, meaning it is dead. This is ultimately a great victory! The hijacked version would have been terrible for solar in Montana - for solar owners and consumers, as well as for our state's solar professionals. We are both thrilled and relieved that we were able to stop the bad version from moving forward. Thank you to all those who helped and supported us during this bill's long and tumultuous journey this session!  Northwestern Energy is continuing its pattern of attacking rooftop solar customers and the businesses installing these systems. Their recent hijacking of…

After a relatively slow start to the first few weeks of the 67th Legislative Session, the last few weeks of February were a whirlwind as legislators worked to get bills introduced and heard in committees before the Transmittal Deadline on March 3rd. Other than revenue bills (and a few other exceptions), bills that are not voted out of committee and across to the other chamber before the Transmittal Deadline die and are not allowed to move forward. Discussions on energy issues, in particular, ramped up over the last few weeks. Below we share some of our insights from inside the hallways of the Capitol, where our executive director has been working hard to defend Montana's renewable energy policies. The biggest story for MREA in the first half of the session was House Bill…

Update 2/19: Huge Win for Rooftop Solar! On Friday, Feb. 19th in the House Energy Committee, Rep. Brewster withdrew HB359 before it even had its hearing. Thank you to all of the Montanans who signed up to oppose the bill, submitted comments, and made phone calls. There were more than a thousand comments submitted in opposition to the bill! This loud and vocal opposition helped earn this huge victory for rooftop solar. Onward! House Bill 359 being introduced by Rep. Brewster (R, Billings) will effectively destroy Montana’s solar industry and cost the state hundreds of well-paying jobs provided by local businesses across the state. The issue at hand is net metering, which is a billing mechanism that allows Montanans who invested in rooftop solar and small wind systems to get credits…

This legislative session will be unlike any we have participated in recently. The makeup of the Legislature and Governor's Office has shifted, and COVID has created a new paradigm for public involvement. There's a lot of uncertainty about how the session will play out. Despite this uncertainty, MREA's advocacy will continue to be driven by our community's priorities and goals. MREA has always, and will always, advocate to: protect and defend the right of Montanans to produce their own energy, promote fair and affordable access to small-scale renewable energy, and oppose policies that attack renewable energy development that will harm consumers and our local, Montana-based industry. The Session has already started, and many of the more than 3,000 draft bills that we have sorted through still do not have language or…

The Montana Legislative Interim Committees are wrapping up nearly 18 months of work researching issues, discussing draft legislation, and preparing for the next legislative session. This interim, MREA was monitoring the work of two committees – the Energy & Telecommunications Interim Committee and the Revenue Interim Committee. In this post, we focus on the work and outcomes of the Revenue Interim Committee. Capitol Building, Helena The Revenue Interim Committee generally does not address renewable energy issues. However, the Committee is conducting a multi-year review of all of Montana’s income tax credits, which includes Montana’s renewable energy tax credits. The Committee is tasked with researching each credit to decide whether to make any changes. The alternative energy systems credit is used by hundreds of Montanans every year to help pay for…

During its April 29th meeting, the Revenue Interim Committee of the Montana Legislature discussed the state's tax credit that supports small-scale renewable energy installations (like rooftop solar and small wind). This discussion is part of a multi-year, holistic review of all of Montana's income tax credits as directed by House Bill 723 from the 2019 Legislative Session. The Committee will review a handful of income tax credits each interim over the next several years. The Committee is tasked with looking at each credit and deciding whether to amend, repeal, or do nothing and leave the credit as-is. Despite a robust discussion about the credit, the committee delayed action until its next meeting. The Alternative Energy Systems Tax credit was the credit up for discussion, which allows Montanans up to $500 per taxpayer…