HELENA The deadline for public comment, on plans to establish a wind farm north of Glasgow, is being extended by two weeks.

HELENA, Mont. (AP) - Developers of a proposed electric transmission line between Lethbridge, Alta., and Great Falls, Mont., said wind developers have bought one-half of the line's capacity and part of the route has been changed to satisfy federal regulators in Canada.

A proposed power line that would provide transmission capacity to four wind-generation projects between Lethbridge, Alta., and Great Falls fails to consider the long-term impacts on farmers

HELENA — The Bureau of Land Management and the state Department of Environmental Quality are seeking public comment on an environmental assessment for a proposed wind farm near Glasgow.

The clean, green power from the Judith Gap Wind Farm that debuted last fall has been more intermittent than anticipated. And that is causing problems for NorthWestern Energy, the utility that must balance supply and demand on its transmission lines.

County Commission chair Kathy Bessette said the board has not determined where the turbines would be located or when they would be built.

Churning wind turbines may soon power Cascade County's courthouse, jail and health department.

WASHINGTON (LEE) —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.

Others at the meeting advocated wind power as an alternative. Bob Quinn, the developer of the 135-megawatt Judith Gap wind farm, said he believes a 250-megawatt wind project would cost about $300 million, or $215 million less than the coal plant.

On the heels of Montana's first major wind-power project and legislative changes that promote wind, several counties and developers are surging forward with new projects.

LIVINGSTON -- Park County and the city of Livingston are moving ahead in efforts to erect wind turbines.

The Rocky Mountain Front - home to spectacular wildlife habitat and rugged ranchland - may also be the perfect setting for wind farms of the future, a panel of speakers told the Golden Triangle Pachyderm Club in Choteau recently.

The unpredictability of wind requires energy suppliers to coordinate backup supplies. For that reason, "free" wind isn't exactly free.

But we can't help but wonder if maybe, just maybe, the state should be taking steps to indemnify itself against the possibility, however remote, of "ghost wind farms" - sprawling graveyards with 30-story tombstones in the event a developer or the technology fails.

If they are going to "talk the talk," it is time to "walk the walk." The foreign windmill promoters that are covering Montana like a swarm of locusts will be more than happy to sign you up for a giant industrial wind plant (subsidized by taxpayers) that you expect the rest of us to live with.

Coal mines always have been big business. Wind farms are getting to be. And when heavy-hitting companies such as North American Coal Corp., Minnesota Power and Florida Power and Light are eyeing an area of real estate, you bet it's consequential. The real estate isn't paltry; it's a lot of acreage in Oliver and Morton counties. Minnesota Power and FPL want to build separate wind farms. But the coal company says, "Wait a minute, we may want to mine where you guys are talking about putting up wind turbines. That won't work."

Small Montana wind energy producers are challenging NWE's proposal to charge them more for "integrating" their product into the portfolio. The wind producers contend that the costs NWE wants them to pay are more than what "integrating" their electricity actually costs. Further, the wind energy producers say NWE's proposed pricing could put them out of business. NWE has said that its customers will have to pay these costs if the wind energy producers don't. In its portfolio proposals, NWE assumes a carbon tax will be implemented in the future, making coal a less appealing source than in the past. The proposed portfolio also assumes the customer will increase energy conservation.

These towers will forever change the scenic value of the Musselshell River Valley. They will have a devastating effect on land values, adversely affect wildlife, create high noise levels and block the beauty of the night sky with red strobe lights. Wind power is being "sold" as green power. It is not green power. The United States Department of Energy study completed in 2007 indicates wind farms operate at 21 percent of capacity. That simply means other sources of conventional power, such as coal-fired, nuclear or natural gas, must back up the power generated by these turbines. ...Will we change from the Big Sky Country to The Big Tower Country just so a foreign utility and a couple landowners can line their pockets?

[P]urchasers of green energy will find that wind energy produced in Pennsylvania is much more expensive than wind produced in, say, Montana. This mainly has to do with the location of wind resources. Montana has more areas with a higher sustained four wind than Pennsylvania. Also, since Montana is less densely populated, there are fewer troubles in siting the windfarms. The drawback, obviously, is that Montana is very far away, and electricity grids lose power over long distances. However, some researchers in Europe claim to have found a solution: DC current.