LAUREL— A long-time Laurel resident is reflecting on the fight over the construction of a Laurel gas plant amid the possibility of more gas plants fueling a proposed data center near Broadview.
Steve Krum, who opposed the building of the Yellowstone County Generating Station on a 33-acre plot of land in 2024, said the plant has had a negative effect on the community. NorthWestern Energy built the plant despite opposition from locals.
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“This is the most populated area in Montana… and they put this major source of hazardous air pollutant right in the middle of it,” said Krum.
Krum told MTN his family members who live next to the plant sent him a video of ripples moving through water. He suspects the ripples are from low-frequency sounds coming from the plant.
“You can feel this low-frequency noise. They are a physical thing. And so, these power plants do impact the people around them,” said Laurel resident Steve Krum.
Krum said impacts from the plant in Laurel make him worry about a proposed data center near Broadview.
The center, which would go on a 5,000 plot of land, was proposed by company Quantica. Quantica announced Wednesday it is seeking to expand energy-generation capacity with NorthWestern Energy, and emails obtained Thursday from the Montana Department of Environmental Quality indicate the company is seeking to build multiple gas plants to provide the needed power.
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“You don't have the right to force unhealthy situations on your neighbor. But they just do it anyway,” said Krum. “There's no way it's not going to impact them.”
The Laurel gas plant generates 175 megawatts. Quantica is asking for a maximum of 7,235 megawatts.
Edward Barta with Billings-based conservation group Northern Plains Resource Council, which advocated against the Laurel plant, said he shares Krum’s concerns.
“When you throw the amount of pollutants that are going to go into the air there compared to Laurel, I would really be concerned,” said Barta. "I don't think they have a lot of water to begin with. So any kind of use of water is going to be really challenging."
MTN left voice messages with NorthWestern Energy, but did not hear back Thursday. Past coverage of the Laurel gas plant details a commitment from the company to provide reliable energy responsibly.
“This is one of the probably cleaner if not the cleanest reciprocating plants in the country right now,” said Project Manager Joshua Follman during a 2024 tour of the plant.
“Unfortunately, while we have more wind and solar than we have any other resource, it's typically not available during critical weather events when it's really, really cold or when it's really hot. And that's when our customers need power the most,” said NorthWestern Energy Vice President John Hines during the same tour.
Krum argues there should be a better way to generate energy reliably.
“There should be a law that says you don't build any one of these sites unless it's a hundred percent green energy,” said Krum.
