State of Montana Newsroom
Governor Gianforte, Montana Chamber Host Energy Summit
Leads panel with fellow governors
BOZEMAN, Mont. – During an economic summit focused on unleashing American energy, Governor Greg Gianforte today convened energy consumers, producers, policymakers, and fellow governors for a conversation on America’s energy landscape and needs for future growth and innovation.
“In Montana, we are leading on energy with our ‘all-of-the above’ energy strategy and that was on full display at today’s Chamber summit,” Gov. Gianforte said. “With unprecedented access to the Trump administration, a stark departure from what we saw under the Biden administration, governors are leading the way to power our states, our country, and the world.”
Gov. Gianforte (right), Gov. Gordon (middle left), Gov. Pillen (middle right), and Gov. González-Colón (left) during the Big Sky, Bright Future Summit in Bozeman
At the 2nd Annual Big Sky, Bright Future Economic Summit co-hosted by Gov. Gianforte and the Montana Chamber of Commerce in Bozeman, business leaders and policymakers met to discuss ways to improve energy reliability, identify growth in energy demand, expand transmission capacity, simplify regulations, and establish next generation power solutions.
In one of the panels, Gov. Gianforte hosted Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon, Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen, and Puerto Rico Governor Jenniffer González-Colón for a discussion about how governors are in a position to lead in powering the nation.
“In Nebraska, when I took office, we recognized we had the opportunity to grow businesses but had to remove the limitations on the growth of our power sources. We had an extraordinary advantage as we are the only state in the United States that’s public power, and it’s important that we work together to unleash the best options,” Gov. Gordon said.
Highlighting the need for regulatory reform to unleash the best available energy production for each state, Gov. Gordon added, “When we say all-of-the-above, we really mean best-of-the-above. And with governors you find a real practical sense with how we solve problems. In Wyoming, we export a tremendous amount of energy. So we approach it knowing that we can’t go into the future by regulating ourselves, rather going into the future by innovating.”
Gov. Gianforte also asked the governors about each state’s relationship with the federal government. In their answers, each praised President Trump and his cabinet for working together with governors.
“Gaining access to the federal agencies can be difficult for our territory. The first thing that happened in the last four years was Washington dictating what the island needs. They decided to have Puerto Rico as an island for renewables with solar panels and batteries. While I don’t have anything against that, you cannot run an island with businesses, factories, hospitals for 24 hours a day on batteries,” Gov. González-Colón said.
Gov. González-Colón added, “When President Trump came in office, I was instantly able to get a meeting with him and Secretary Wright. It’s been a night and day difference in working with the agencies. Since he’s been in office, the Department of Energy has sent a team eight times to the island to meet with my administration.”
The summit also included a video address from Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy Chris Wright.
“From the start, President Trump has made it clear that the era of energy subtraction is over. We are not out to subtract energy sources, drive up costs and burden families. We want to bring back commonsense and unleash American energy across the board – producing record levels of oil and natural gas. We want to revitalize the coal and nuclear industries and advance next-generation technologies that secure our energy independence,” Sec. Wright said.
You can view the video address from Sec. Wright here and livestream of Gov. Gianforte’s discussion with fellow governors can be viewed here.
A full agenda of the Big Sky, Bright Future Summit can be viewed here.
###