Wind deal could take Montana energy to West Coast

Officials with a renewable energy developer based in Ireland said Wednesday the company has paid $3.5 million to reserve priority position on the Bonneville Power Administration’s interstate transmission system — a move that will allow wind power produced in Montana to be distributed to the West Coast.

Van Jamison, vice president for strategic operations at Gaelectric North America http://www.gaelectric.ie, said the agreement with BPA shows that the company is committed to building wind farms in the Great Falls and Harlowton areas in the next couple of years.

Gaelectric, which has offices in Great Falls, is planning to put $2 billion into wind development projects in Montana over the next six years. Jamison said those efforts will double the state’s current installed capacity of 500 megawatts of wind power.

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