Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Montana wind farm plans set in motion

Associated Press

HELENA – Work on Montana’s first major wind farm is expected to begin this month, and officials hope it will be producing electricity by the end of the year.

Invenergy of Chicago won approval from state regulators in March to build the wind farm between Judith Gap and Harlowtown. It’s expected to contain 90 to 100 turbines.

Andrew Flanagan, Invenergy’s project manager for the Judith Gap Energy Center, said initial work, including roads and foundation work for the turbines, is expected to begin by mid-May.

The plan is to have the project completed and transmitting electricity by the end of the year, he said.

Once completed, the 150-megawatt project will sell wind-generated electricity to NorthWestern Energy, which will use the power to serve its 300,000 customers in central and western Montana.

The project is expected to bring a dozen permanent jobs to Wheatland County. As many as 150 people will be employed at the peak of construction this year.

Flanagan said the 260-foot-tall turbines may start going up as soon as mid-July.

Wheatland County Commissioner Richard Moe said the wind farm will be the largest construction project in the area since the late 1970s.

“There will be a lot of jobs in the area, erecting the wind farm, and that will certainly be a boost for the local businesses,” he said. “It brings a healthy attitude to the county. It’s really nice to see something turn around.”

Moe was among the half-dozen people who met in a Judith Gap church basement five years ago to talk about building a wind-power project in the area.

Also there was Bob Quinn, a Big Sandy farmer whose company, WindPark Solutions America, has been a driving force behind the project.

WindPark sold its interest in the project to Invenergy last year.

Flanagan said the wind farm will be the largest of its kind built by Invenergy, which has built several smaller wind farms and also developed gas-fired power plants.

Invenergy has hired a Billings contractor to handle construction at the site, Flanagan said.

The project, which will be built mostly on state land, also includes construction of a power substation and facilities to connect the wind farm to NorthWestern Energy’s power system.