Montana Utility Bags Coal Plant Plan, Will Go With Combo Of NG And Wind - Billings Gazette

[hatrack]

Blaming regulatory uncertainty and environmental lawsuits, developers of the Highwood Generating Station near Great Falls are halting work on the planned coal-fired generating plant for now and are going to build one powered by natural gas with wind turbines for additional power.

In a unanimous vote Friday, board members of four south-central Montana cooperatives decided to switch directions in order to get a 120-megawat natural-gas-fired plant up and operating by 2011 to provide electricity for members.

Lawsuits and regulatory delays over coal have delayed the project too long, said Tim Gregori, chief executive of Southern Montana Electric and Transmission Cooperative in Billings, the parent organization formed to provide wholesale electricity to its member co-ops.

"We have been studying relative economical wind and natural gas from the beginning of the project back into 2003. Even though wind and gas isn’t a cheaper economic alternative, it’s a pragmatic solution," he said.

EDIT

http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2009/02/02/news/state/20-highwood.txt

[jwirr]

1. Wow, Montana is Coal Country. Good for them.

[OKIsItJustMe]

2. Unfortunately, the headline is misleading

They'd planned to go with a 250MW coal plant and a token 6MW of wind. Instead, they're going with a 120MW gas plant and the same token 6MW of wind.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=115&topic_id=185207&mesg_id=185207

[Massacure]

3. And here I thought hell had frozen over...

Guess not...