U.S. OKs Montana Coal Lease After Penny-Per-Ton Company Bid
A company owned by the Navajo Nation placed a $186,000 bid on Monday to lease 167 million tons of coal on federal land in southeastern Montana — the largest U.S. coal sale in more than a decade and a move that lands at odds with global energy trends.
The lease, approved by the Bureau of Land Management, gives the Navajo Transitional Energy Company (NTEC) the right to mine coal in the Powder River Basin, one of the most productive coal regions in the world. According to the Associated Press, it’s the first major federal coal sale since the Obama administration paused new leases in 2016, a ban later lifted under the Trump administration.
For NTEC, the deal represents economic opportunity. The company, based in Farmington, New Mexico, says its operations provide vital revenue for the Navajo Nation, where unemployment remains high and resources are scarce. Coal, it argues, can help fund schools, infrastructure, and future investments in renewable energy.
The NTEC bid amounts to roughly one-tenth of a penny per ton, highlighting how far coal’s market value has fallen even as President Donald Trump continues advocating for expanded fuel mining and use.
But the timing is striking. Just as NTEC reenters the national coal stage, the rest of the world appears to be moving decisively in the opposite direction.
According to new data reported by the BBC, renewable energy has overtaken coal as the world’s largest source of electricity for the first time. Wind, solar, hydro, and other renewable sources now generate more power globally than the fuel that built the modern industrial economy. The shift marks a symbolic turning point in the decades-long transition toward cleaner energy and away from fossil fuels that drive climate change.
The contrast between the Montana sale and the global data underscores how uneven that transition remains. In cities and coastal states, renewables are rising fast, helped by federal incentives and corporate investment. But in regions like the Powder River Basin, coal is still an economic lifeline.
For communities across Wyoming and Montana, mines mean jobs, tax revenue, and stability. For the Navajo Nation, which has a long and complicated history with energy extraction, they mean self-determination and survival. NTEC has said it views coal as a bridge, a source of income today that can support a cleaner economy tomorrow.
Still, environmental advocates see the lease as a step backward. The Biden administration has pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 and transition the U.S. power grid to clean energy. Opening new coal reserves, they argue, risks locking in decades of additional emissions and undermines the progress made since the moratorium.
Coal’s place in the American energy mix has already been shrinking. In 2008, it accounted for roughly half of U.S. electricity generation. Today, it makes up around 16 percent, as utilities retire aging plants and turn to cheaper natural gas and renewables. Many analysts say that the fuel is in decline economically, no matter what happens in Washington.
Yet for NTEC, the decision is as much about sovereignty as economics. The company was founded in 2013 to manage the Navajo Nation’s share of energy assets and has since acquired multiple coal mines in Wyoming and Montana. Leaders say they intend to use coal profits to support community programs and explore diversification, including solar and wind projects on tribal land.
That balancing act — between immediate economic needs and long-term sustainability — mirrors the broader global tension in the energy world. While the share of renewables continues to grow, demand for reliable and affordable energy has kept fossil fuels in play, especially in developing economies and rural regions.
Supporters of the Montana lease argue that Indigenous and local communities should share in the economic benefits as long as global markets still require coal. Critics counter that it’s a short-term fix that will only delay the inevitable and make the eventual transition more painful.
The sale also highlights the contradictions within U.S. energy policy. While Washington invests billions in clean energy through measures like the Inflation Reduction Act, it continues to approve fossil fuel projects to maintain supply and affordability. The result is a fragmented energy landscape in which coal’s decline and resurgence coexist, depending on which side of the country, or economy, one looks at.
For more articles like this, visit our Financial News Page!