NEWS

NOTICEBOARD...

Please record your comments, questions and support by leaving a message on our Noticeboard (click the button on the left)

CURRENT STATUS (01.02.05)

Happy New Year...!!!

Your wind farm will now be a reality...!!!

We won the RFP competition.
We have the PPA awarded by NWE for 150 MW.
We have a possibility of building the farm to the maximum size of 181 MW, by offering the extra 31 MW to a neighbouring state.

The PPA negotiations were brought to a successful conclusion with the help of another "Partner" to the project - the company Invenergy Wind from Chicago.

We must hope and pray that the PTCs will be extended in good time so that the project can start construction and so that the US Wind Industry does not come to a halt again at the end of 2005.


P R E S S C L I P P I N G S...


WIND PLAN MOVES AHEAD
By SONJA LEE
Tribune Staff Writer

The first major wind-energy project in Montana is expected to be operating by the end of the year near Judith Gap.

NorthWestern Energy announced Tuesday that it will buy 135 to 150 megawatts of electricity from the planned $150 million wind farm in rural Wheatland County.

"We think this is going to be a beneficial project," said Mike Hanson, NorthWestern Energy's chief operating officer.

The 20-year contract is between NorthWestern and WindPark Solutions Arcadia, the company that originally developed the project.

NorthWestern officials said they hope to submit the plan to the Montana Public Service Commission by the end of the month for approval.

Big Sandy farmer Bob Quinn, a partner in WindPark Solutions Arcadia, said he is ready to move ahead with the wind farm, which will feature 75 to 100 turbines just south of Judith Gap.

WindPark Solutions recently sold its interests in the project to Invenergy Wind LLC. The Chicago-based company will construct, own and operate the facility. Invenergy has 25 projects in development or construction in the United States and Canada, totaling more than 2,500 megawatts of new wind generation.

Quinn has been working to build the wind farm for the past 4 1/2 years. He hopes to see construction begin in the spring.

Residents of Judith Gap hope the project will help the economy in their small community, which has a population of about 160.

"I think it's wonderful," said Charlene Fyler, owner of the Hitching Post Café and Bar in Judith Gap.

She said that during construction, workers will need a place to stay and eat. When the wind farm is complete, it also may bring some tourists to town, she said.

Last fall was the third time WindPark submitted a bid to supply power to NorthWestern. The utility has been seeking up to 150 megawatts of wind power for its Montana customers over the next 20 years. Each turbine can produce 1.5 to 1.8 megawatts of power.

One megawatt is enough power for 400 to 500 homes.

"In the beginning we never really imagined we would end up with the whole contract," Quinn said.

WindPark Solutions previously had been selected, but NorthWestern's bankruptcy filing disrupted the contract process. The project was bid again, and with NorthWestern's emergence from bankruptcy, a new contract was agreed upon.
Quinn said he is excited to be a part of the first large-scale wind power development in Montana.

Congress approved a federal wind-energy tax credit, another crucial factor for wind-power development in Montana, in September. Through the credit, the federal government essentially lowers the price of wind power.

The plant needs to be in production before the end of the year to realize the tax credits.

Energy from the wind farm will provide NorthWestern Energy's customers with about 8 percent of their electricity. The contract price for the power is about $31 per megawatt hour, but the price paid by consumers will be higher, depending on the cost of power needed to back up the wind source at times when it produces less power.

Late last year, Quinn also signed the first-ever lease of state land for a wind farm.

The project means an increase in lease revenue for the state with a new leasing income of $50,000 to $75,000 a year. The money helps fund public schools and colleges.
The 8,000-acre wind farm also will be on nearby private land.

"This is a good move forward for the people of the state of Montana and the state school trust fund," said Dan Bushnell, information officer with the state Department of Natural Resources and Conservation.

Environmental studies for the site also have been completed, Quinn said.

The turbines will be on towers that are about 230 feet high and will have blades more than 100 feet long.

The reviews determined the wind farm should have no significant impact to people or wildlife. Avian studies showed a low probability of bird deaths. And Quinn said a monitoring program will be in place at the site.

"We carefully reviewed the avian studies and feel the developer is very responsible," said Patrick Judge, with the Montana Environmental Information Center. "We are delighted by the news."

He said both WindPark and NorthWestern worked toward a sound project.

"This is well overdue," Judge said.


TAX CUT SUPPORT FOR WIND POWER PRODUCERS
By MIKE DENNISON
Tribune Capitol Bureau

HELENA — A bill cutting property taxes for wind power producers in Montana won widespread praise Thursday, as supporters said it could help spread wind projects across rural Montana.

"This is an opportunity to put economic development in areas that most need economic development," said Senate President Jon Tester, D-Big Sandy, the sponsor of Senate Bill 115.

Tester and a dozen others testified before the Senate Taxation Committee, all in support of his proposal.
They said Montana is lagging behind most Western states in developing wind power, despite having some of the best wind resources in the country.

Other states have pushed wind development with generous tax credits, and Montana needs to be competitive, they said.

"I think it's time we stopped losing opportunities in this state," said Bob Quinn, a Big Sandy farmer and developer of what should become the first large, commercial wind farm in the state.

Earlier this week, NorthWestern Energy announced it will buy up to 150 megawatts of power from a $150 million wind-power project near Judith Gap.

Quinn and others have spent more than five years working on the project and sold it last year to Invenergy Wind of Littleton, Colo. Construction is supposed to start this year.

Tester's SB115 would create a new property tax "class" for wind-power generating equipment, taxing it at 1.5 percent of its market value.

Most power-generating equipment in the state currently is taxed at 6 percent of its value.

The bill also allows local governments and school districts to levy an "impact fee" of up to 0.5 percent of the wind project's construction value, for three years.

The impact fee would help local governments pay for public costs of building a large-scale wind project, such as building access roads or expanding schools for the children of new workers.

Quinn and Invenergy executive Doug Carter said the lower property taxes aren't a factor in going ahead with the Judith Gap project.

Any cut in taxes will be passed on to consumers in lower prices, according to the contract Invenergy has with NorthWestern, they said.

But they and others said the lower tax should make Montana a more attractive spot for developing additional wind projects.

"I was pretty skeptical of Montana," Carter said of his initial involvement in the Judith Gap project. "It just wasn't on my radar screen for development."

While SB115 technically cuts tax rates, supporters pointed out that Montana has no commercial wind farms, so any property taxes on new projects will be new revenue.

Richard Moe, a Two Dot-area rancher who chairs the Wheatland County Commission, said the Judith Gap project will be a huge benefit for the county, generating $2.5 million in impact fees and $500,000 a year in property taxes under the new rate.

The county has been losing population for 25 years and attracting any economic development has been an uphill battle, he said.

"It's a big deal for our county," he said. "The county's most abundant resource will no longer be a four-letter word, but a major source of revenue."

Tester said it's his hope that SB115 will lead to other wind-power projects in other rural counties in need of an economic boost.

"There is tremendous opportunity in wind generation in the state of Montana," he said. "We have yet to take much advantage of that. Senate Bill 115 takes a step in the right direction to do that."

The Taxation Committee took no immediate action on the bill.


NW SIGNS WIND POWER DEAL
CHARLES S. JOHNSON - IR State Bureau - 01/12/05

HELENA — NorthWestern Energy announced Tuesday it had signed an agreement to buy between 135 and 150 megawatts of electricity from a company that will build a $150 million, large-scale wind farm near Judith Gap in Wheatland County.

If the contract is approved by the Montana Public Service Commission, it will represent the first major investment in wind power in Montana, which has some of the windiest areas in the country. The PSC had urged NorthWestern for several years to include wind power in its electricity portfolio.

The company's contract is with an affiliate of Invenergy West, the Chicago-based company that will build and run the wind farm.

The proposal calls for a 20-year contract to provide NorthWestern Energy's default supply customers with about 8 percent of their total electricity at a price competitive with electricity generated from other sources. The contract price is about $31 per megawatt hour, although the price proposed for the consumer would be somewhat higher, depending on the cost of buying ‘‘firming'' power, such as that generated by a natural gas-fueled power plant, to back up the wind power source, the company said.

‘‘We have worked very hard to obtain a cost-competitive renewable resource for our customers, while providing an important incentive for the development of a large-scale renewable energy project in Montana,'' said Mike Hanson, NorthWestern Energy's chief operating officer.

Hanson said the amount is consistent with the amount of wind energy the company identified in its electric default supply procurement plan.

Bob Quinn of Big Sandy, a partner with Wind Park Solutions-Arcadia, the firm that originally developed the contract, said it was satisfying to see the project come together after working on it for four and one-half years.

‘‘This project will not only benefit the local economy, but will generate money for Montana's schools since a portion of the wind farm will be built on state lands,'' he said.

Gov. Brian Schweitzer, who made wind power a major part of his platform for governor, said: ‘‘It's a great start.''

Patrick Judge, energy program director for Montana Environmental Information Center, said, ‘‘We're delighted. We think it's really important that the first project be a good model for the industry, and this certainly qualifies.''

The news drew praise from Ann English Gravatt, senior policy associate from the Renewable Northwest Project.

‘‘This is great news for Montana,'' she said. ‘‘Montana has the best wind resource in the Northwest and with today's announcement, consumers will finally reap the benefits of that resource in the form of a low-cost, clean wind project.''

The 8,000-acre wind farm will include 75 to 100 turbines, each with a capacity of 1.5 to 1.8 megawatts. Quinn said Wind Park Solutions-Arcadia has completed the necessary environmental permitting steps to clear the way for construction in the first half of 2005.

Wind Park Solutions-Arcadia recently sold its 100 percent interest in the project to Invenergy Wind LLC.

Mark Leaman, vice president of Invenergy, said the company has 25 projects in active development or construction in the United States and Canada totaling more than 2,500 megawatts of new wind generation.

Pat Corcoran, NorthWestern Energy's vice president of government and regulatory affairs, said the utility will file the paperwork by late January for advanced approval of the contract from the PSC in keeping with the company's procurement plan.

The wind resource must be put into production by Dec. 31, 2005, to receive federal production tax credits, which are included in the contract's economic considerations.