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State leases land for wind farm south of Judith Gap

A Big Sandy wind-power developer Monday signed the first-ever lease of state land for a wind farm, setting up a potential big boost in lease revenue for the state.

By MIKE DENNISON
Tribune Capitol Bureau

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/news/stories/20040921/localnews/1272167.html

The lease approved by the state Land Board will allow farmer Bob Quinn and his wind-power partnership to erect wind turbines on a 640-acre section of state land south of Judith Gap.

Quinn said if the wind project goes forward as hoped, the state could see lease income of $50,000 to $75,000 a year — a bit more than the $800 in grazing fees paid on the land now. The money helps fund public schools and colleges.

Quinn’s company, WindPark Solutions Arcadia, does not yet have a contract to sell power from the proposed wind farm. It could become the first major wind-power project in Montana.

WindPark is bidding to supply all or part of the 150 megawatts of wind power that NorthWestern Energy is seeking for its 300,000 Montana customers over the next 10 to 20 years.

NorthWestern may narrow the list of bidders by the end of this month.

Quinn said he’s confident WindPark can get a contract with NorthWestern, in part because his company has worked four years on the project and jumped through many of the necessary hurdles to get the project approved and financed.

"We think that we’re further along than anyone," he said Monday after signing the state land lease. "We think we can get a good share of what (NorthWestern) is awarding."

Quinn and state officials also announced Monday that an environmental review of the proposed wind-farm site in Wheatland County concluded it would have "no significant impacts" on people or wildlife.

The review, conducted by several contractors and costing WindPark about $100,000, looked mostly at how the turbines might harm birds flying in the area.

Bud Clinch, director of the state Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, complimented WindPark for "stepping up to the table" and financing a complete study.

"We really have a willing partner who … was not afraid to address the tough issues," he said.

If WindPark wins a contract from NorthWestern Energy and the contract gains approval by the Public Service Commission, the company could begin construction on the wind farm by next year, Quinn said.

Even if WindPark doesn’t win that contract, the company believes it can go forward with the project eventually, selling to other customers, he added.

WindPark has an "interconnection" agreement good until 2008, allowing it first crack at transporting power on area transmission lines, he said.

Under the lease agreement signed Monday, WindPark would pay the state a minimum $2,500 per megawatt of "installed capacity" of the turbines on state land. Each turbine can produce 1.5 to 2.3 megawatts of power.

A megawatt is enough power for several hundred homes.

Once the project is producing power, WindPark would pay the state 2.7 percent of its power sales from the turbines on the state parcel. As many as 28 turbines would be on the square mile of state land, Quinn said.

The lease to WindPark does not displace the state land’s current grazing lease, allowing that activity to continue, he added.

The wind-power project also would be on nearby private land.

Quinn said the project also is dependent on Congress reinstating a federal tax incentive for wind-power projects. The incentive expired last year, but has been amended into an export subsidy bill that is before a House-Senate conference committee.

Barrett Kaiser, spokesman for U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., said Monday the bill is "seen as one of the most likely bills to move before the election," and that Baucus has been pushing for its passage.

At Monday’s Land Board meeting, Secretary of State Bob Brown, a booster of wind power, said leasing state land for a wind-power project is "long overdue."

"Wind is the most rapidly growing source of power in the world today," he said. "There is enormous potential (in Montana)."

Dennison is the Tribune’s Capitol Bureau chief. He can be reached at (406) 442-9493 or by fax at (406) 442-9413. E-mail is [email protected].

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