Feature Stories (Vol. 110 No. 7--2/13/2008)

Wind farm would stretch from Berthold to Columbus starting with 333 turbines

By Caroline Downs

The sound of the wind blowing along the Missouri Coteau of northwestern North Dakota will soon translate into profit for area landowners and for the principals involved with Hartland Wind Farm, LLC.

Last week, North Dakota natives Glen Johnson and Curt Johnson, together with Craig Fink, announced a joint venture between Denali Energy Inc. of Baxter, MN, and Montgomery Energy Partners LP of Houston, TX, to develop Hartland Wind Farm in portions of Ward, Mountrail and Burke counties.

Both Glen Johnson and Curt Johnson were raised in the Kenmare area. "Curt is my nephew," Glen Johnson explained, "and he’s in a real estate partnership with Craig Fink, in Baxter, Minnesota."

According to Glen Johnson, Fink has been interested in wind energy for more than a year and attended an energy conference in Bismarck that inspired a greater commitment to his involvement. As he discussed his desire to invest in wind energy with Curt Johnson, Curt mentioned he knew the perfect location for a wind project.

"Our farm is out at Hartland," explained Glen Johnson. "Then I’ve got land in the hills west of Hartland, and Curt’s grandparents and relatives have land west of Kenmare in Burke County."

Those tracts just happen to be designated as some of the best sources for wind in the nation, as supported with data collected by the U.S. Department of Energy National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The wind resource map for North Dakota has been available since the late 1990s, but no large wind project has been established in the northwest region.

However, Fink had ties with Montgomery Energy Partners, which specializes in renewable energy, as well as natural gas generation and advanced technology development. Representatives with Montgomery quickly realized the potential for a successful and profitable wind project.

"Craig and Curt came out here last fall," said Glen Johnson. "Craig said, ‘Show me a map.’ We drove out west of Niobe and showed him the ridge out there and said that’s where the wind blows."

Glen paused and grinned as he described a trip with the two men to his own land. "There’s one hill, if you go out on a calm day, the wind’s blowing," he said.

The trio drove an area from Niobe west to ND Highway 8, south to Highway 50 at Coulee, then northwest to the old U.S. Highway 2 and back to Hartland. "Curt had been out there," said Glen. "He knows the wind blows! He wanted to get something going in this area."

The scope of the entire project encompasses all or parts of 18 townships extending from Columbus to Berthold. The first phase of Hartland Wind Farm is expected to use 333 turbines to produce 500 megawatts of electricity, with a second 500 megawatts phase in development. According to Glen Johnson, at 1000 megawatts, Hartland Wind Farm would be one of the largest wind farm developments in the United States and the world.

Project includes transmission of power
The project will also include transmission, one of the major obstacles to the development of wind energy in North Dakota. "They realized one of the biggest problems has been with transmission," said Glen Johnson. "The Hartland Wind group is negotiating to build their own power line, to tie in to the grid at Minnesota or Williston, and they’ve had good progress on that."

At this time, engineers for the project are reviewing contour maps of the area and working on design specifications for the project. As soon as those reports are complete, which Glen Johnson expects within the next few weeks, landowners will be contacted. "They will be paid so much per tower, plus a share of the revenue," Johnson said. "What we’ll be starting out with is getting options on the land first, then going to a lease."

Johnson explained the project needed access to contiguous land tracts. "It’s not like an oil well, where you pump out the oil and transport it somewhere else," he said. "Here, you’ve got to put it on the (transmission) line."

Project would double state’s wind capacity
At this time, plans for phase I of the project call for the first 500 megawatts to be constructed in 2009 and 2010, with phase II taking place in 2011 and 2012.

For his part, Curt Johnson is happy to see wind energy development in a familiar part of the state. "Denali Energy is pleased to be part of this landmark project that will more than double the wind capacity in the state of North Dakota," he said.

Fink is becoming more familiar with the region and is looking forward to working with the communities. "Hartland Wind Farm project is a shining example of how we can promote economic development, reduce our dependence on foreign oil and provide a healthier environment," he said. "We appreciate the enthusiasm for clean, renewable, locally-produced wind energy. Well-planned wind farms can generate lots of clean power and local tax revenue, and still be a good neighbor."

Glen Johnson emphasized the Hartland Wind Farm project would not interfere with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service land. "We’re building these towers on the hilltops," he said. "We’re not going to put towers in the sloughs. We don’t want to lease the bottom lands. We’ll give that to the ducks!"

He laughed as he described his nephew’s insistence that Glen return to Kenmare from his typical winter in Arizona to work on the project. "I had to come back from Arizona after Christmas," he said. "We should be contacting landowners later this month. This is going to be big for Kenmare and Bowbells."

Although Johnson is still waiting for the engineering reports, he invited landowners with property along the coteau between Columbus and Berthold to contact him at 701-385-4690 to discuss the project further. "I know the general area," he said. "I’ll talk to any landowner who wants to call me!"

Townships included in the project plans are Leaf Mountain, Foothills, Cleary, Lucy, Clayton, Ward, Dimond, Roseland, Vanville, Kandiyohi, Spencer, Sidonia, Crowfoot, Lowland, Redmond, Stave, Ree, Egan and Passport.

Montgomery Energy Partners LP is a Houston, Texas-based energy company with 2,975 megawatts in development and operation. Denali Energy Inc. is a Baxter, Minnesota-based company specializing in renewable energy development.

Copyright © 2008 Kenmare News
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