BUTTE, Mont., Nov. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- NorthWestern
Corporation d/b/a NorthWestern Energy (NYSE: NWE) and
Compass Wind, LLC have closed on the purchase of the 40-megawatt
Spion Kop Wind Project near the central Montana community of Geyser.
"We're pleased to add Spion Kop Wind to our growing portfolio of
owned electric generation resources in Montana," said Bob
Rowe, president and CEO. "This project enables us to meet
our 2015 renewable portfolio standards obligation while maintaining
a balanced resources mix that contributes to long-term rate
stability. Our thanks to Compass Wind for bringing forward an
environmentally sound project that adds real economic benefit to
the local area."
"As a company, we feel fortunate to have worked with
NorthWestern Energy along with so many quality partners at the
local level. We look forward to a long presence in
Judith Basin County and
Montana," said Compass president
Chris McCall.
Approximately $8 million was spent
on Montana services during
construction including transportation, lodging, food, labor,
materials, permitting and siting. In addition to those economic
benefits, the project will generate an additional $566,000 in property taxes and fees in the local
area during its first year of commercial operation. NorthWestern
Energy, Compass Wind, GE and Ryan Companies also donated
$10,000 to purchase new iPads for the
Geyser School before the start of the current school year.
The Montana Public Service Commission (MPSC) approved placement
of the $86.1 million project into the
company's regulated rate base in mid-February, and the project was
placed into commercial operation earlier this month. Both the
energy and associated renewable energy credits will be used to meet
the renewable portfolio standards (RPS) obligations in Montana law. Under Montana's RPS, 15 percent of NorthWestern
Energy's total energy portfolio must be produced from renewable
generation by 2015.
Under the terms of the filing with the MPSC, which included a
10% authorized return on equity, a 5% estimated cost of debt and a
capital structure of 52% debt and 48% equity, this project
represents an approximate levelized price of $54 per megawatt hour (MWh) for a 25-year period
and is significantly less than the current Qualifying Facility rate
for a project with similar attributes of $69/MWh.
Spion Kop Wind will now be subject to an MPSC prudency review of
the project's construction costs, and we expect the review to be
completed during 2013. We expect to recover the Spion Kop Wind
project in customer rates beginning in December 2012.
About NorthWestern Energy
NorthWestern Energy provides electricity and natural gas in the
Upper Midwest and Northwest, serving approximately 668,300
customers in Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska. More information on NorthWestern
Energy is available on the company's website at
www.northwesternenergy.com.
About Compass Wind
Compass, a wind project developer in the western US, was formed
in 2007 to build smaller utility-scale wind projects. Currently,
Compass has a number of active projects in the Mountain States
region with an established pipeline of approximately 1,000
Megawatts. More information is available on the company's website
at www.compasswind.com.
SOURCE NorthWestern Corporation