Grasslands Renewable Energy of Bozeman, Montana gets backing for wind project

"This will allow wind developers from different geographic areas to work together in new ways to fully realize our potential."

A Montana renewable energy company says it has the backing of 10 wind farm developers to pursue a sprawling power collection grid serving Montana, North Dakota and Alberta.

The announcement by Grasslands Renewable Energy http://www.gre-llc.com/ of Bozeman came as the company received initial approval Friday for a reservoir project that would store excess power from the developers’ prospective wind farms.

Grasslands president Carl Borgquist says wind-generated electricity would be used to pump water uphill to a 50-acre reservoir on Gordon Butte near Martinsdale. When the wind stops blowing, the water could be released to a lower reservoir — turning hydropower turbines to keep electricity flowing.

Full Story: http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/article_e5713064-5aab-11df-83dd-001cc4c002e0.html