First Judith Gap, Montana wind turbines to go online in a few weeks – Governor Schweitzer to speak at Wind farm dedication today (10/7)

At first, the neon orange speck 260 feet up looked like part of the wind turbine. Until it moved.

The man – one of two perched atop the nacelle of a wind turbine at Judith Gap – was part of a nine-man crew "flying" the rotor from the ground to the top of the tower.First Judith Gap, Montana wind turbines to go online in a few weeks – Governor Schweitzer to speak at Wind farm dedication

"In the wind it’s like a surfboard," says Tim Knutson, a tech adviser with General Electric, who has "ridden" the nose cone of a rotor many times. Standing there "you can feel it swaying side to side."

"The transformer coming in from Mexico hasn’t left the border yet. We’re waiting on permits," said Geoff Kerr, on-site construction representative for Invenergy, the company that owns the $150 million project.

By LINDA HALSTEAD-ACHARYA
Of The Gazette Staff

Full Story: http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&tts=1&display=rednews/2005/10/07/build/state/20-windfarm.inc

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Governor to speak at Wind farm dedication

by JIM DULLENTY
News-Argus Staff Writer

Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D-Mont.) will headline a group scheduled to speak at the dedication ceremony for the Judith Gap Wind Energy Center on Friday, said a spokesman for the company that owns the wind farm.

The wind farm rising out of the prairie near Judith Gap is a phenomenal site. A dedication ceremony will be held Friday.

The public is invited to the ceremony and open house sponsored by Invenergy, the Chicago-based firm which owns the wind farm.

Events begin at 12:30 p.m. with a gathering and light lunch. Then the speaker program begins at 1 p.m. with Doug Carter, an Invenergy vice president.

Full Story: http://www.lewistownnews.com/news2.html