BUILD 2022

Help MREA build a Montana where the widespread use of renewable energy drives Montana’s economy and powers every aspect of Montanans’ lives.

MREA has always punched above its weight. For twenty years our organization has operated with limited staff capacity. And yet, in the last few years alone we have beaten back numerous attempts by legislators to kill rooftop solar. We earned a unanimous vote from the Montana Public Service Commission (PSC) rejecting a punitive attack on net metering by NorthWestern Energy. We expanded the reach of our education programs, bringing our annual Montana Clean Energy Fair to new communities, collaborating to host new Expo events around the state, and engaging in dozens of communities and classrooms to teach Montanans of all ages about the benefits and uses of renewable energy. And we can do so much more.

We are thrilled to share that right now, we are building up our staff capacity to better meet our programming potential. In October we added a second full-time employee. Evora Glenn, our new Programming Coordinator, is a passionate, dedicated, ambitious individual who has hit the ground running and is ready to make a big impact at the organization.

Adding staff means we can bolster our advocacy efforts, working with legislators, PSC commissioners, and congressional delegates to ensure they understand the positive impacts that renewables have in Montana. We can expand our educational programming, reaching more communities and connecting more Montanans to small-scale solar, wind, storage, and more. And we can create more jobs by offering more educational programs and trainings to the industry and supporting the growth of new markets across the state.

In 2022, we’re planning to launch Phase 3 of our Montana Rural Solar Access Project, increasing access to small-scale solar in Montana’s rural communities. We’ll be hosting the 11th Annual Montana Clean Energy Fair, returning to Butte in August. We’ll be visiting classrooms to teach students about renewable energy technologies and career opportunities. We’ll be following federal legislation to ensure energy funding coming to Montana supports the growth of renewables. We’ll be preparing for the 2023 legislative session, including tracking bills and the results of the 2022 elections. And, in all likelihood, we’ll be preparing for another NorthWestern Energy electric rate case, which we expect to see filed in late-2022.

This is an ambitious slate of programs, but one we can handle with the support of our community. The reality of building up our staff and programming is that we need to build up our financial resources too. Please donate to support MREA at this exciting and pivotal time.