NorthWestern Energy Announces Site Selection for Proposed Electric Generation Plant
24 Enero 2008 - 7:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
BUTTE, Mont., Jan. 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- NorthWestern
Corporation d/b/a NorthWestern Energy (NASDAQ:NWEC) is considering
a site east of Anaconda, Montana for a proposed natural gas fired
electric generation facility. The facility under consideration
would provide regulating reserves within the company's transmission
control area and must be approved by the MT Public Service
Commission prior to the company committing to construction. The
site selection is the first of many remaining steps necessary to
determine the viability of the project. The company must still
obtain competitive bids for generation equipment and submit all of
the necessary environmental permitting applications before
determining the actual size of the project and whether it is
economically viable. If, after further analysis, the project is
deemed appropriate, it will be submitted to the Montana Public
Service Commission in the spring or early summer for review and
approval. "There's still much work to be done; however, the site
selection is necessary before proceeding with technology and
environmental evaluations. Our independent engineering firm
evaluated several possible sites in Montana and we chose the Mill
Creek site due to the proximity and availability of electric and
gas transmission facilities, access to rail and water supply," said
Bill Rhoads, Director -- Montana Production. Dave Gates, Vice
President -- Wholesale Operations added that the proposed plant,
adjacent to the company's Mill Creek Substation, would be built and
operated in full compliance with Montana environmental statues and
meet or exceed all air and water quality standards. The power from
the plant would be used to balance the company's transmission
system and to provide the ancillary services needed to integrate
the company's existing and any additional wind energy that may be
added to NorthWestern's portfolio of electric supply resources. The
exact size of the proposed plant has yet to be determined pending
technology and environmental evaluations, but the range under
consideration is 120-220 MW with an estimated cost in excess of
$100 million. NorthWestern Energy operates a 7,000-mile high
voltage transmission system that requires adequate reserve capacity
to maintain federal reliability standards. Currently, the company
must purchase and import these services from utilities in the
northwestern US and Canada. Until recently the company was not
allowed to own rate-based generation resources. The market
availability of regulating reserve capacity is shrinking throughout
the region because utilities are now using more of their own
regulating reserve capacity for projects on their own systems. The
Shaw Group/Stone and Webster is providing the engineering and
technical analysis on the project while Bison Engineering, a Helena
firm, has been hired as the environmental consultant. The project
description and maps of the proposed site is available to the
public on the company's Website at
http://www.northwesternenergy.com/. About NorthWestern Energy
Northwestern Energy is one of the largest providers of electricity
and natural gas in the Upper Midwest and Northwest, serving more
than 640,000 customers in Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska. More
information on NorthWestern Energy is available on the Company's
Web site at http://www.northwesternenergy.com/. DATASOURCE:
NorthWestern Corporation CONTACT: Claudia Rapkoch, 1-866-622-8081,
, or Investor Relations, Dan Rausch, +1-605-978-2902, , both of
NorthWestern Corporation Web site:
http://www.northwesternenergy.com/
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