NorthWestern Energy not abandoning coal power

BUTTE (AP) — Officials with NorthWestern Energy say they aren't abandoning the use of coal-fired power even as the Obama administration seeks to set limits on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.

NorthWestern CEO Bob Rowe tells Lee Newspapers of Montana that the company does plan to bring on more renewable power and continue programs that encourage energy conservation, but he says coal still generates about half of the power the company sells its 340,000 Montana electricity customers. About 15 percent of the company's power is renewable energy, most of that wind energy.

Rowe says the company's planning assumes that carbon dioxide emitted by coal- and gas-fired power plants eventually will face federal restrictions.

On June 26, President Barack Obama announced he would seek to limit carbon dioxide emissions from power plants.