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Wind power company lauds PSC for hearing
HELENA – Wind power company Navitas Energy on Friday commended state regulators for scheduling a Nov. 15 hearing on its request to be an independent power provider in Montana.
GAZETTE STATE BUREAU
Navitas affiliate Whitehall Wind LLC wants to invest $65 million in Montana by building a wind power generation facility and possibility a wind turbine plant in Jefferson County, it said in a press release. The company submitted a proposal to be part of the default supply portfolio of Montana Power Co., which was bought by NorthWestern Energy, but was not chosen.
"The window of opportunity to deliver wind power to Montana consumers is fast closing because federal tax incentives will expire next year," said John Jaunich, president of the company. "That’s why the Public Service Commission deserves praise for scheduling a hearing on our application next month, when there will still be enough time left for us to construct our facility and have it delivering electricity before the end of next year."
He said it appears Montana’s first commercial wind-generated energy is finally on the verge of becoming a reality, which is good for consumers who want good prices, competition and electricity from alternative "green" sources.
"All this could be happening already, without the PSC, if only NorthWestern were truly interested in bringing ‘green’ energy to Montanans," Jaunich said, adding that NorthWestern had rebuffed its offers for months.
That’s why Whitehall Wind LLC applied for status as an independent power producer or qualifying facility, he said. Federal law allows alternative power generators to receive qualifying facility status when they meet certain factors, including the refusal of an energy provider such as NorthWestern to negotiate with it, Jaunich said.
He criticized NorthWestern Energy for this week filing a motion to dismiss the Whitehall PSC application, accusing the company of trying to "run out the clock" to make wind power impossible in Montana.
In response, NorthWestern spokeswoman Claudia Rapkoch said her company had not obstructed the wind-power process.
"What we are doing since the (PSC default supply) order was issued in June is we have been conducting a thorough review of the resources that are currently in the portfolio and those resources that we still need to put in the portfolio."
She said the company is making decisions based on the feedback from the PSC and others through the default supply process as well as independent outside parties.
Rapkoch said NorthWestern recently announced it had signed agreements with two providers, Tiber Montana and Thompson River Co-gen. Last week, it announced it had signed agreements with two gas-fired plants, Montana First Megawatts, being built by a NorthWestern sister company, and Basin Resources in Butte, for generation that can be dispatched quickly.
NorthWestern is now putting out a request for proposals for conservation, she said, and after that will issue a request for wind-power proposals.
"It’s certainly going to happen this fall," she said. "We’re taking a very methodical approach and being very thorough in what we require."
She said having to go through the qualifying facility process "muddies the water" for a request for wind power proposals.
Copyright © The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises.
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