Montana Wind Working Group Meeting
Minutes
Sept. 18, 2003
Secretary of State’s Conference Room
| Name | Agency |
|---|---|
| Gordon Brittan | Wheeler Center for Public Policy |
| James Carkulis | Montana Wind Harness |
| Paul Cartwright | Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) |
| Arend Collen | Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) |
| Larry Flowers | National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) |
| Mark Hines | Department of Environmental Quality |
| Van Jamison | Powair |
| Patrick Judge | Montana Environmental Information Center (MEIC) |
| Bob Julian | Power Procurement Group |
| Wendy Kleinsasser | WindPark Solutions |
| Ron Lehr | Colorado Wind Working Group |
| Mark Lindberg | Governor’s Office |
| Chuck Magraw | Natural Resources Defense Council/Renewable Northwest Project |
| Dave Ryan | Northwestern Energy / Montana Renewable Energy Association |
| Gayle Shirley | Secretary of State’s Office |
| Ed Weber | Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) |
| Paul Williamson | UM College of Technology |
Wind Powering America Rural Outreach Program / USDA Farm Bill
Larry Flowers said rural economic development is one of the primary goals of Wind Powering America (WPA), a program of the U.S. Dept. of Energy. He hopes the Montana Wind Working Group (MTWWG) will embrace that goal and try to get the agriculture community interested in wind. He suggested getting speakers on the agendas of annual meetings of agriculture groups. He said there are 22 wind working groups nationwide, most of them in rural states. WPA has also been working on a “project calculator” that enables them to run scenarios on small wind development to see if they’re cost effective.
Larry said he was disappointed with the response to the 2002 USDA Farm Bill grants for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. Money was left on the table this year because there were so few applicants. Montana didn’t submit any wind projects. He said the grants ranged from $20,000 to $500,000 and covered projects up to 50 MW.
Larry said the 2003 Farm Bill will include $23 million for this program: $10 million for grants and $13 million for loan guarantees. A call for proposals will probably go out next spring. Because the time frame for applying is so short, Larry recommended that the MTWWG start meeting with farmers/ranchers in November and explaining the opportunities the Farm Bill offers so that they can be ready to go when the call for applications goes out. He said the application process should be simpler next year.
Van Jamison suggested bringing successful grant recipients from Minnesota, which saw 17 wind projects funded, to Montana to guide farmers/ranchers through the application process.
Paul Williamson suggested that the MTWWG should commit to developing a certain number of projects or call itself a failure. Paul suggested the MTWWG should set a goal for itself of having 10 applications under the Farm Bill submitted from Montana sponsors. He and Van Jamison committed to work on a draft work plan for meeting this goal. The draft plan they prepare will be presented at the next MTWWG meeting.
Mark Lindberg said we should get on the agendas of the “big four” ag groups: the Stockgrowers Association, Grain Growers Association, Farm Bureau Federation, and Farmers Union. He said we need to address a perception problem on the part of farmers/ranchers. They still think of the old windmills and don’t consider wind economically viable.
Mark Hines said the Liberty County commissioners are interested in putting on a wind workshop. They are considering forming a wind co-op.
Western Resource Advocates “Clean Energy Plan”
Ron Lehr noted that the “electronic divide” runs through Montana and the grid is weakest there. Yet Montana has one of the best wind resources. If we want to find alternatives to gas, we need new transmission capabilities. He suggested looking at an ad hoc transmission study commissioned by the Western Governors Association at:
http://westgov.org/wga/initiatives/energy/final_rpt.pdf
Ron said the Western Resource Advocates has been studying the western interconnect with funding from the Hewlitt Foundation and DOE. According to WRA’s website http://www.westernresourceadvocates.org/energy/clenergy.html the group’s report, due out this month, will “ systematically examine the costs, environmental benefits, and reduced risks associated with increasing the amount of clean power in the West. Looking at the entire power grid for the region, WRA has run analyses that directly compare a business-as-usual approach with a clean-power alternative. The business-as-usual scenario assumes that we will continue to invest heavily in traditional fossil fuel power plants. The clean-power scenario assumes we add a set of clean energy options balancing the goals of maintaining reasonable electricity costs, managing risk, and protecting the environment.”
Ron said the study has found that developing the high wind resource in Montana and Wyoming and building new transmission to do so is economically equivalent to developing a lower quality wind resource closer to loads where transmission already exists.
Ron said a new group called Wind Wires West is interested in addressing wind transmission issues, and the Utah and Wyoming governors want to do a sub-regional study. Mark Lindberg said Montana will also be involved in the latter.
Wind Initiatives on State Lands
Arend Collen said DNRC is preparing a new RFP for wind exploration and development on state trust lands. He expects the department to advertise it in late October. The RFP will address three sites: state tracts in the Circle, Two Dot and Raynesford areas. Applicants would be expected to negotiate contracts with Northwestern Energy and adjacent landowners.
Mark Hines said DEQ is installing anemometers at those three sites this fall. He noted that DEQ could use more 50 to 60 meter towers.
Wind Initiatives on Federal Lands
Larry said BLM has come out with a draft land-use policy that includes wind. The agency is developing a programmatic environmental impact statement and will hold public meetings in the next two months in Boise, Salt Lake City, Casper, Sacramento and Reno.
Larry said NREL is working with the Forest Service to initiate a similar process.
Tribal Energy Program
Larry said the Northern Cheyenne have received a grant from Wind Powering America to begin wind development on their reservation. The Fort Peck reservation got a buy-down of a single commercial turbine to install on the reservation. NREL also will be meeting with Crow tribal leaders soon to look at energy development options.
Update on NorthWestern Energy Wind RFP
Dave Ryan said NorthWestern has selected successful bidders but no contract has been signed. The process is on hold because of NWE’s inability to provide solid financing. It will be up to the bankruptcy judge whether NWE moves forward with the contracts.
Dave noted that the bankruptcy court has allowed NWE to continue funding renewable energy and energy conservation projects through the Universal Systems Benefit (USB) program.
Patrick Judge said the Energy and Telecommunications Interim Committee of the Legislature will meet Nov. 19 to discuss the USB law. He said committee chairman Alan Olson has indicated an interest in redirecting USB funds from renewable energy projects to low-income energy assistance.
Gordon Brittan suggested inviting Mark Thompson to the next MTWWG meeting to answer questions about NWE’s wind plans.
Update on Irrigation Project
Gordon said he and Dave Healow have so far installed four turbines representing 1 MW. They hope to buy another 10 decommissioned turbines from California to refurbish and make available to irrigators. He said he will draft a case study of the irrigation project for distribution to MTWWG members.
Utility Wind Interest Group
Larry Flowers said Montana utilities should be represented at a technical workshop sponsored by the Utility Wind Interest Group Oct. 23-24 in Seattle. More about the workshop and the group is available at: www.uwig.org.
MTWWG Website
Paul Cartwright at DEQ volunteered to maintain the MTWWG website at www.energizemontana.com. Click on “Wind” under the Renewable Energy option to find the site. Other organizations are welcome to link to the site. Anyone with content suggestions for the site should send them to Paul.
MTWWG Membership
The MTWWG wants to be sure to include a broad representation of people interested in the development of wind energy. Anyone with suggestions for additional members should send them to Van Jamison, wakanpowair@msn.com.
Van also noted that the Montana Grain Growers Association will have a 1-hour program on wind energy and its role in rural economic development at its annual meeting Dec. 2-3 in Great Falls. Members of the MTWWG will participate. Van Jamison will also be talking to the Montana Farmers Union members about wind power at their annual meeting in Great Falls on October 18th.
Upcoming Meetings of MTWWG
The group decided to meet Dec. 4 in Great Falls to dovetail with the Grain Growers annual meeting, since some of the members will be involved in the latter.
The next meeting of the group will be Oct. 30 in Helena. Details regarding time and place, as well as an agenda, will be distributed later.