Spain-based NaturEner, a renewable-energy company that recently entered the North American market, officially broke ground Thursday on the first phase of a 210-megawatt wind farm on the hills between Cut Bank and Shelby.

The electricity produced from the $500 million wind farm, which will be the state's largest, is bound for California, company officials said.

Construction began in the spring, but Thursday was the official debut of the project for the public. The fanfare brought NaturEner officials to northcentral Montana from the company's international headquarters in Madrid.

Officials from the U.S. headquarters in San Francisco and the Canadian office in Calgary also were on hand.

Gov. Brian Schweitzer, who has supported tax breaks to lure projects such as the Glacier Wind Farm to the state, also attended.

"God bless you for choosing us," Schweitzer told the developers.

He also thanked the Montana Legislature for passing the tax incentives for renewable-energy projects.

Jose Maria Sanchez Sear, NaturEner's CEO of U.S. operations, said the company is planning an additional 300 to 500 megawatts in Montana projects, including a possible expansion of the Glacier Wind Farm, which, at 210 megawatts, will be larger than the wind farm at Judith Gap, which is 135 megawatts. The company is developing 1,000 megawatts in the United States and Canada.

Sear said Montana's tax incentives were a major factor in the company's decision to invest here. He described the state's "open-for-business" attitude as refreshing.

The governor said that seeing the 250-foot-tall turbines shooting up from the prairie "makes my heart beat a little faster." He added that he sees wind development in Montana as a way to contribute toward national efforts to reduce dependence on foreign energy.

"Wind energy means that's American energy, produced in Montana with Montana workers," he said.

The first phase of the wind farm will generate 106.5 megawatts using 71 turbines. That phase is scheduled to be finished in October, said NaturEner's Bill Alexander, who is overseeing the project. Another 103.5 megawatts from 69 turbines are planned in phase two. The cost of the first two phases is $500 million. An additional 200 turbines would be built if the company chooses to produce another 300 megawatts at the site, he said.

The likelihood of the additional 300 megawatts depends on whether the Montana Alberta Tie Line is approved, he said. MATL is a transmission line proposed between Great Falls and Lethbridge, Alberta.

Thursday's ceremony was attended by about 200 residents, who were bused to the site from Shelby. It featured Montanans in blue jeans mingling with NaturEner officials in suits, with the area's consistent wind bringing them together. Landowners will earn a percentage of the revenue produced by turbines on their land.

"We are delighted with how we were received in Montana," said NaturEner CEO Rafael Sanchez-Castillo Lodares of Madrid.

However, State Sen. Jerry Black of Shelby said it wasn't a red-letter day.

"It's a bright green-letter day," he said, referring to the green energy and tax revenue the wind farm will produce for Glacier and Toole counties.

He called the project - and possibly others that may follow in northcentral Montana - the most significant economic development since oil was discovered in 1922, and the Burlington Northern railroad was constructed.

Toole County Commissioner Allan Underdal said tax revenue in that county from the Glacier Wind Farm will be $2.1 million its first year of operation. This year, the county will charge NaturEner a $437,000 impact fee to cover services the county supplies for the project, such as roadwork and public safety.

"I think it's a positive thing we use an energy source that just irritated us in the past," Underdal said.

Alfredo Cahuas, NaturEner USA and Canada's chief financial officer, said the company, which develops, builds, owns and operates wind, solar and small hydro-electric facilities, sold 350 megawatts of wind assets it owned in Spain in 2005 to reinvest in North America, where the wind market is attractive because it's growing and has a strong resource.

"This is our first project in the U.S.," Cahuas said. "That alone, for us, is a significant milestone."

The green electricity produced in Montana is headed for homes and businesses served by San Diego Gas and Electric, an investor-owned utility in California that serves 1.2 million customers.

The utility has a power purchase agreement with NaturEner for the entire 210 megawatts of power from the Glacier Wind Farm, said Matt Burkhart, vice president of electric and gas procurement for the California company.

A California state law requires that 20 percent of the state's energy use be supplied by renewable energy by the year 2010, he said. Burkhart said the wind-generated energy from Montana will supply 3.5 to 4 percent of his company's customer load.

So far, 15 turbines have been erected at the wind farm, located on private farm and pasture land.

Alexander said the turbines were built at a facility in Iowa owned by Spain-based Acciona. The Blades were constructed by LM Glasfiber and the towers were built by DMI Industries, both of which are located in North Dakota.