Welcome to
Friends of 2 Rivers

A citizens' organization committed to promoting a safe, healthy and enriching environment for the communities at the confluence of the Clark Fork and Blackfoot Rivers.

Wind turbine rotorTraffic waited for this load to pass, just east of Missoula and eastbound on I-90 when it was two-way traffic because of construction. The load was a single blade of a 3-blade rotor for a wind turbine generator. Interesting stuff about wind generators:
     •    Each of the 3 blades on a wind turbine rotor is 120’ long or longer
     •    Average output of a single U.S. wind turbine in 2018 was 2.43 million watts (MW)
     •    Sixteen turbines would supply enough electricity to enable the Missoula urban area’s electricity that’s now 60% “clean” (no CO2 emissions from its generation) to be 100% clean. A somewhat larger number of turbines with storage batteries would be needed to ensure the reliability of the electricity supply.
     •    The carbon “payback time” for the wind turbine is 7-9 months. That is, all the CO2 emitted for extraction and manufacturing of raw materials, production of the turbines, their transport, erection, operation, maintenance, dismantling and disposal is recovered by the turbine’s zero CO2 emissions during its first months of operation.
     •    Turbine lifetime is 20-25 years
     •    A typical wind farm leaves 98 percent of land undisturbed and free for other uses like farming and ranching.
     •    Annual avian mortality from collisions with turbines is 0.2 million, compared with 130 million mortalities due to power lines and 300-1,000 million from buildings.
     •    There are 120,000 full-time workers in the U.S. wind industry and, in 2018, turbines and components were manufactured at 530 facilities in 43 states.
A good reference: Center for Sustainable Systems, University of Michigan Wind Energy Factsheet | Center for Sustainable Systems (umich.edu)

Friends of 2 Rivers
PO Box 376
Milltown, MT 59851
(406) 370-6584

 

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Send your comment to the PSC before April 15. Tell them that you support their finding of the inadequacy of NorthWestern’s application for acquiring 25% of Colstrip 4 for $1. Send your comment to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..  Include your name, address, and phone number.

On February 5th, 2020, NorthWestern Energy filed with the Montana Public Service Commission (PSC) for “Pre-Approval of a Capacity Resource Acquisition.” The utility proposed to purchase from Puget Sound Energy its 25% (185 MW) share of Colstrip Unit 4. After receiving public and stakeholder comment, the PSC found NorthWestern’s application to be deficient. It did not include adequate background information showing that the purchase was in the best interest of Montana ratepayers.

In early April, NorthWestern “moved” that the PSC reconsider its finding that the application was inadequate. If the PSC did not do so, the utility would cancel its application. In justifying its request for reconsidering the application the utility stated “…the Commission adopted polices advocated by the Montana Environmental Information Center (“MEIC”) and the Montana Consumer Counsel (“MCC”) and prejudged the Application based on that advocacy.”

You can weigh in on this issue. The PSC acted correctly in requiring more information from NorthWestern. Costs that would be passed along to ratepayers with the Colstrip 4 purchase include: 1) Repair of the generating equipment, an estimated $20 million; 2) Remediation of the Colstrip groundwater contaminated by the coal ash waste ponds; 3) Cost of increasingly expensive coal; 4) Higher operating cost of Colstrip 4 than any other source of electricity.

 

PosterDraftLogoDo you have rummage to sell? Do you need a place to have a garage sale?

 

Register now for the B(onner) M(illtown) W(est Riverside) FLEA MARKET on Saturday, August 18 from 9AM to ? at Hellgate Lions Park, 1305 Haaglund, West Riverside. $10 per 10'x10' space. Download registration form (PDF)

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