Whitehall wind project leaders counting on PSC

The state Public Service Commission should OK the first major wind-power project in Montana, creating affordable power rates for consumers and multimillion-dollar investment in the state, according to a group of state and local officials.

By MIKE DENNISON
Tribune Capitol Bureau

"I think this is a win-win situation for consumers," said Rep.-elect Scott Mendenhall, R-Whitehall. "It brings the first wind (project) to Montana."

Mendenhall on Friday joined several other Whitehall-area officials and a staff member of Gov. Judy Martz’s economic development office in seeking approval for a 50-megawatt wind project near Whitehall.

They asked the PSC to set a long-term rate for the project’s power, thus requiring NorthWestern Energy to buy power from Whitehall Wind to serve NorthWestern’s Montana consumers.

"I think we’ll see a tremendous surge of economic activity down there at a real critical time for Montana," said Sen. Duane Grimes, R-Clancy.

The PSC has until Dec. 2 to make its ruling.

Whitehall Wind, an affiliate of Navitas Energy Inc. of Minneapolis, says the PSC should set a price under a federal law that’s supposed to encourage development of independent power projects.

If that rate is a profitable price for Whitehall Wind, the company will start building its multimillion-dollar project near the Golden Sunlight gold mine, which is northeast of Whitehall, officials said.

But NorthWestern Energy officials argued against the project, saying it’s not appropriate to be applying the 20-year-old federal law.

Whitehall Wind’s petition should be dismissed, said Pat Corcoran, NorthWestern’s vice president for regulatory affairs in Butte.

If the PSC doesn’t dismiss the case, it should refer to its own rules, which say a project this big cannot use the federal law to arrange a contract.

Those rules say projects larger than 3 megawatts can obtain a contract only through competitive bidding.

Corcoran said NorthWestern plans to solicit bids for wind-power projects next month, and that Whitehall Wind should take part in that process.

"We’re very interested in the promotion of economic development throughout the state, but, really, that’s not the issue in the case," Corcoran said Monday. "Just as Whitehall is interested, there are other areas of the state where other projects want to build."

Using a competitive bidding process will help the company choose the best project for the consumer, he added.

The bidding process would be used to choose a contract or contracts to help NorthWestern supply its 300,000 electric customers in central and western Montana.

Navitas officials have replied that regardless of the PSC rules or NorthWestern’s concerns, the federal law is quite clear. It requires the commission to set a price for the power offered by an independent project like themselves, they said.

"What (NorthWestern) is really asking the commission to do is disregard (its) own rules and make up some that (NorthWestern) likes," said Chris Moore, director of development for Navitas.

He also said his company believes the rate set by the PSC would be beneficial to consumers.

Navitas has suggested a rate of about $33 per megawatt hour, which is lower than the rate that NorthWestern Energy electric customers in Montana are paying now.

Moore said long-term power rates will probably be above that level, so the rate would be a bargain for consumers. He also discounted NorthWestern arguments that accepting the Whitehall Wind project would disrupt the competitive market.

The partially deregulated market in Montana actually gives NorthWestern Energy more flexibility to deal with the Whitehall project’s contract, as well as other wind-power contracts, he said.

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