Spanish firm plans to expand Montana wind farm

[Doondoo]

A Montana wind developer has sold its interest to a Spanish company, a move it says paves the way for a much larger wind farm near Cut Bank. Gov. Brian Schweitzer called the announcement ‘‘big,’’ and said it shows that increasingly larger wind farms will be coming to Montana, a potential boon to the state.

Great Plains Wind & Energy said current management will stay in place after the sale to Naturener S.A., a Spanish renewable energy company, is completed. Naturener said it plans to more than double the size of the proposed McCormick Ranch Wind Park in Toole and Glacier counties, from 120 megawatts to 300 megawatts.

Bill Alexander, a current owner, said the larger company also has plans to speed up the project’s completion. The wind power plant plans to use a proposed power line that would run from Canada to Great Falls to sell electricity into both markets.

The governor said the new company was impressed with his proposed tax breaks for ‘‘clean and green’’ energy. The tax proposal is currently working its way through the Legislature.

‘‘Absolutely it’s a sign of more wind development to come,’’ Schweitzer said.


http://www.helenair.com/articles/2007/02/24/montana/a01022407_01.txt

[jwirr]

1. Now this is the kind of foreign investment I like to see.