Whitehall wind plan stalled

The deal to put wind turbines on Golden Sunlight property near Whitehall is apparently off, according to Jefferson County economic development officials and NorthWestern Energy.

Navitas, a Minnesota-based wind power developer and producer, won a bid last year from NorthWestern Energy to supply wind power as part of the company’s energy portfolio. However, the deal has disintegrated with each side pointing figures as to why the long-awaited project has stalled.

By Leslie McCartney of The Montana Standard

http://www.mtstandard.com/articles/2004/05/29/newsstate/hjjfjehajiibgh.txt

"If they (NorthWestern) had acted reasonably and accepted the bid we would have wind power today; the only reason we don’t is NorthWestern," said Scott Mendenhall, a Jefferson County economic development official who worked closely with Navitas.

He added that NorthWestern’s bankruptcy slowed the development process considerably, as did the utility company’s refusal to renegotiate the bid — which had gone stale because of months of delay.

NorthWestern, however, said that the deal languished because Navitas failed to provide a complete written answer as to why changes in the power purchase agreement were necessary, something crucial in a competitive bidding process that requires Public Service Commission approval, said Claudia Rapkoch, a spokesman for NorthWestern.

"We felt we couldn’t continue with it (the bid) and still be fair to the other bidders," Rapkoch said. "They wanted a higher price than what the original price was."

Mendenhall said company officials believed that a change in the bid was needed because months had elapsed. He said NorthWestern’s bankruptcy complicated matters as did an increase in the price to be paid for turbines, which are manufactured in Spain. He added that Navitas spent nearly $500,000 and many months on a project at Whitehall and unless something changes, it will not see any pay back for its efforts.

The real shame is that Montana is one of the top five states for wind power, a renewable, green resource that people support, he said.

"It’s frustrating to me because this was good economic development," Mendenhall said.

Under preliminary calculations, about 28 white turbines were to be stationed on Golden Sunlight land — some of which is owned by the Bureau of Land Management — to turn wind currents into power, generating about 50 megawatts of electricity. The project was expected to cost about $65 million.

Navitas President Gary Jaunich said that his company, which has developed wind power projects in other states, remains "very interested" in the state and completing a wind energy project in the state, even if it’s not at Golden Sunlight.

"There are many places in Montana that have great wind resources," Jaunich said.

He also alluded to his company’s troubles in getting its power project done in the Montana, NorthWestern’s troubles and regulatory criteria.

"It’s not like doing business in the East," he said.

Mendenhall said people need to understand businesses’ frustration in dealing with NorthWestern.

"How long do they (NorthWestern) expect a private company to hang in there to try and do business with them?"

But NorthWestern points the finger at Navitas for the failure of the project to go forward. It contends the Minnesota company’s insistence on reopening the bid lead to the downfall of the project compounded with its failure to explain

why the changes were necessary.

"It’s got to pass muster of regulators and our customers and we never got what we would consider to be a sufficient response," Rapkoch said.

Reporter Leslie McCartney may be reached via e-mail at [email protected].