35 Montana towns seek cash for wind projects

Thirty-five Montana cities and counties filed applications Wednesday for interest-free federal financing for wind energy projects, with Yellowstone and Cascade county commissioners coming to Washington to submit theirs and to lobby on rural issues.

The local governments submitted applications to the U.S. Treasury Department for a total of $37.2 million in renewable bonds for wind projects. A total of $800 million has been appropriated for the new program nationwide.

Yellowstone County Commissioner Bill Kennedy said they requested slightly more than $4 million to build 18 wind turbines that would produce 4.5 megawatts of power.

That would be enough to power all of the county buildings, including MetraPark, the courthouse and the detention facility, he said. It costs $250,000 to pay for electricity at Metrapark annually, Kennedy said.

By NOELLE STRAUB – IR Washington Bureau

Full Story: http://www.helenair.com/articles/2006/04/27/montana/a07042706_02.txt