The Energy and Water Appropriations Act passed the Senate Appropriations Committee last week would provide $800,000 for the Tri-County Biomass Pilot Project, which would use woody biomass produced in Lewis and Clark, Jefferson and Broadwater counties to create renewable energy for the city of Helena. The three counties yield about 350,000 tons of biomass a year, from sources like dead trees.

MORE: The Washington Department of Natural Resources has received a $1 million grant from the U.S. Forest Service to study the state forests' biomass supply.