Montana wind farm gets agency approval

HELENA – Montana’s first major wind-power project has cleared its final hurdle.

The state Public Service Commission on Wednesday voted 4-1 to grant “pre-approval” for a 20-year contract under which Invenergy will sell power from its proposed wind farm near Judith Gap to NorthWestern Energy.

NorthWestern officials said the wind-power project will help provide “rate stability” for its 300,000 customers in central and western Montana by creating a more diverse source of electricity suppliers.

“We are very pleased that the PSC has given expedited approval to our contract with the first large-scale wind farm in Montana,” said Mike Hanson, NorthWestern’s president.

The contract approval comes over the objections of PPL Montana, the state’s dominant power producer.

PPL, whose hydroelectric and coal-fired plants provide 70 percent of the power for NorthWestern customers, argued that the contract guarantees neither a stable price nor a reliable source of power.

“We’re certainly disappointed on behalf of the (ratepayers) that some of those issues were not thoroughly addressed,” said David Hoffman, spokesman for PPL.

Hoffman said the company will decide later whether to mount a legal challenge to the commission’s order.

Under terms of the contract, Invenergy will supply NorthWestern with electricity at an average price of $31.60 per megawatt hour for 20 years. It will make up 7 percent of the power supply for NorthWestern’s customers that haven’t chosen another electricity source.

That price takes into account the federal tax credit and a pending state property tax reduction for wind farms. The actual cost to consumers will be slightly higher because of the intermittent nature of the wind, NorthWestern said. By comparison, NorthWestern now charges residential customers $42.94 per megawatt hour.

Invenergy Wind Park is expected to have 100 turbines, each with a capacity of 1.5 megawatts, in an 8,000-acre wind farm. The project is expected to cost $150 million.

Commissioners who supported the contract said it’s a solid project that will provide not only affordable power, but needed competition for PPL Montana. They said PPL has an unregulated monopoly on the Montana electricity market.

“I’ve become convinced that the project is extremely well-done,” said Commissioner Doug Mood, R-Seeley Lake.

Commissioner Brad Molnar, R-Laurel, who cast the only vote against the contract, said it was “probably the best wind project I’ve ever seen,” but that he’s concerned the backup power will make the final cost too expensive for consumers.