Montana’s ‘Windustry’ Poised to Grow

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/montana_windustry_poised_for_growth/C38/L38/

Montana’s ‘Windustry’ Poised to Grow

By Kyle Lehman, 3-08-08

Montana is beginning to ramp up its efforts to capitalize on the energy potential carried in winds rolling off the Rockies and whipping east across its plains.

But it's been slow in coming. Despite Montana's No. 5 ranking in wind potential by the American Wind Energy Association, statistics from the Department of Energy have Montana accounting for only 145 megawatts of wind power out of a total of 16,596 MW nationwide.

On Tuesday, Governor Brian Schweitzer announced that German wind turbine manufacturer Fuhrlander AG plans to construct a new manufacturing facility near Butte, with the expectation that turbine demand will greatly increase in the coming years.

And this spring Spanish wind developer Naturener will begin construction on the first phase of a wind power facility near Shelby called McCormick Wind Farm. Once the second phase of the wind farm is complete, it will produce a total of 210 MW of electricity, more than doubling the state's current capacity. According to the governor's office, this is just one of as many as 50 potential projects, and if all were built, they'd produce some 4,000 MW of energy.

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[Vincardog]

1. Why are German and Spanish companies building here and American companies are building in China?