HELENA â€" As he drove past windmills in Judith Gap, Shelby Mayor Larry Bonderud thought to himself, "We can do this."
Since then, Glacier Wind Farms 1 and 2 between Shelby and Cut Bank have brought more than $6.47 million to the county in property taxes and impact fees.
"That affects all of us as we broaden our tax base," Bonderud said, adding, "We are aggressively seeking more" wind power development.
The wind farms, including one near Kevin, have brought technology from all over the world â€" and the people who operate and install that technology â€" to Shelby and lured home graduates to work in maintenance, he said. Combined with the oil and gas wells in the county (more than 10,000 wells), a carbon sequestration, daily crude oil trains and a fracking sand project, Shelby is "at the crossroads of energy," he said.
Bonderud was among those on hand Wednesday to mark the 10th anniversary of Montana's Renewable Power Production and Rural Economic Development Act, which requires utilities to purchase 15 percent of their power from renewable resources by this year.
Buy PhotoShelby Mayor Larry Bonderud said he looked at the wind farm in Judith Gap and thought Shelby could have a development like that, too. (Photo: TRIBUNE FILE PHOTO/LARRY BECKNER)
In the past decade, wind power has gone from supplying none to 6.5 percent of the energy generated in Montana. Based on projects in the queue, that could be 13 percent by 2020 and 28 percent by 2040.
U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., was president of the Montana Senate in 2005 and sponsored the act.
"The last 10 years have shown how successful that standard has been," he said via video.
Tester said alternative energy development has been good for air and water and also the economy and ratepayers, and he pitched a bill he recently introduced to support further investment in geothermal development.
The debate isn't between renewable and nonrenewable energy but an "all of the above" policy, said Evan Barrett, who was former Gov. Brian Schweitzer's director of business development.
"And that's great for Montana as we have so many sources of energy," he said. "It's not a zero-sum game. There's lots of opportunity."
Buy PhotoNorthWestern Energy’s Spion Kop wind farm near Geyser. (Photo: TRIBUNE FILE PHOTO/RION SANDERS)
Instead of fighting over the slices of the energy market, "Montana is a kitchen and we can all make our own pie," said Bob Quinn, a Big Sandy farmer and developer of the Judith Gap Wind Farm.
"Our goal was to make sure Montana's first wind farm wasn't the last," he said.
Wind energy is nearly as important to Wheatland and Toole counties' economies as coal and coal-fired power are to Rosebud County, according to research sponsored by Renewable Northwest and Montanans for Good Jobs & Clean Air.
"Wind for many years was a liability, and now it's an asset," Quinn said.
While some states are reluctant to export energy, Montana has a strong culture of exporting energy to other states and markets, making it a prime place for additional wind farms, said Josh Framel, Invenergy project developer.
"We want to take Judith Gap and multiply it across other counties," he said.
Two-thirds of wind power generated in Montana is exported out of state.
Wind power has meant about 100 new jobs a year in the state and an average of $17 million added to the gross state product and nearly $400 million spent on construction, taxes, leases, labor and other costs, said Gary Gannon, who presented research compiled by SciGaia.
"It's had a huge impact on the well-being of those communities and compares well with oil and gas counties," Gannon said.
Electric rates don't seem significantly impacted, with Montana rates 5 percent lower than other mountain states and 15 percent below the national average, he said.
While the wind, sun and water are present, the challenge down the road will be in transmission of the power. Bonderud said the best option for transmission may be to Canada.
"As you look at future constraints, it's transmission," he said. "Maybe the way to get it out of here is to go north."
The only certainty is that Montana's energy picture will be different in the future, Gov. Steve Bullock said. He said Montana still has a ways to go to realize its full renewable energy potential and needs to tap into new technology to keep Colstrip in operation.
"With good-paying jobs, investment and plenty of resources, Montana is primed for renewable energy," Bullock said. "Through innovation, we can and will continue to create jobs and deliver clean air without pulling the plug on our existing energy industries."
Buy PhotoWindmills between Shelby and Cut Bank have provided nearly $6.5 million to Toole County in taxes and impact fees. (Photo: TRIBUNE File PHOTO/KRISTEN INBODY)
Eastern Montana has "really hot water at shallow depths," which could be harnessed for geothermal development, Gannon said. That could power the oil and gas industry, heat buildings or be used for greenhouses for higher profit crops.
Other alternative energies are pumped hydro-power, with a project expecting to add 400 megawatts by 2019 and adding power components to dams that aren't now generating electricity, an estimated 70 megawatts of untapped energy.
Wind produces about 670 megawatts of power in Montana now (with another 285 megawatts expected in 2016 and a capacity for 2,400 megawatts). Solar energy hasn't been so big a factor as wind, but the industry does employ 140 people in a $25 million business. Projects in the hopper for Lewis and Clark, Deer Lodge, Missoula, Golden Valley, Bighorn and Broadwater counties could add 60 megawatts.
"Big sky. Big sun. Big opportunity," Barrett said.
"We have a long way to go to realize the full solar potential" of the state, said Diana Maneta, director of the Montana Renewable Energy Association.
Key going forward will be distribution of energy generation, Maneta said, with home solar panels and small-scale windmills.
"People want to take some control over their own energy," she said.
Reach Tribune Staff Writer Kristen Inbody at kinbody@greatfallstribune.com. Follow her on Twitter at @GFTrib_KInbody.
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