Landowners say the Glendive Wind Project will negatively affect rural life in Dawson County.
The Dawson County planning board heard from citizens on Thursday, about zoning ordinances that would potentially stop or limit windmills.
Watch the debate over the project in the video below:
Some ranchers and farmers are concerned about the windmills as tall as 575 feet, which would be more than twice as tall as the tallest building in the state.
"The tallest building in Montana is 272 feet, and that's the First Interstate Bank in downtown Billings," said Ric Holden, a Dawson County rancher.
That's what's proposed about 20 miles southwest of Glendive.
“These turbines that are projected for our county will actually be the size more or less of the Seattle Space Needle,” said Holden.
Holden is a former state senator and among those with concerns.
Slated to break ground in 2026, the Glendive Wind Project would have a capacity of producing approximately 800 megawatts of clean, renewable energy, but Holden says at a cost.
“When you look at the fiberglass shards, flakes, and strands that blow off the fiberglass blades, they blow all the way across the country,” said Holden. “And when that happens, it contaminates our soil and our crops.”
But Ross Feehan of Next Era Energy disagrees and says there are no fiberglass shreds during normal operation.
He highlights the potential economic impacts, which include an estimated $5 million in annual economic activity over 30 years of the project.
Feehan is concerned by a proposal before the planning board that would limit the height of turbines that he says would essentially kill the project.
“That will completely eliminate four landowners who have already signed up for the project,” said Feehan. "It will impact an additional six landowners altogether. It will prevent those landowners from earning an estimated $44 million over the life of their wind project.”
John Laney, executive director for the Miles City Area Chamber of Commerce, has already seen the economic benefits of the Clearwater Wind project in his county, where up to 300 windmills are being constructed.
“It's imperative that we find ways to make it because it's difficult to bring in large industry here,” Laney said.
The planning board is expected to take at least one month to make a recommendation to the county commissioners.
It is considering at least three possibilities: expand regulations, less broad regulations, or no zoning that would affect the windmills.
It's a decision many will be closely watching.
“If you put these strict regulations in place, you are handcuffing our economy in Dawson County,” said Terra Burman, executive director of the Eastern Plains Economic Development Corporation.
“We've got to take things in our own hands to protect our livelihood,” said Randy Arnston, a rancher in Dawson County.
