Highwood Generating Station
Southern Montana Electric Generation & Transmission
Cooperative was formed out of the common wholesale power
need of the member systems. Five electric cooperatives and
the newly-formed municipal utility system, Electric City
Power, for the City of Great Falls, joined forces to bring
reliable
and competitively-priced long-term wholesale power supply
to its users. During the evaluation of alternatives for power
suppliers to replace wholesale power supply contracts that
will expire near the end of this decade, it was determined
that the best course of action was to construct a coal-fired
power generating plant.
Stanley Consultants, an engineering firm with years of experience
in the coal-fired generation field, was engaged to conduct
a siting study to determine the best location for the proposed
power plant. On their recommendation, Southern Montana
Electric G&T has tentatively selected a site for the
plant outside Great Falls, MT. The power plant will be
called the Highwood Generating Station.
Discussions related to the long term financing of the project
with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rural Utilities
Service (RUS) are ongoing and additional requirements for
the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) are being addressed
by Mangi Environmental Group. A team of consultants lead
by the firms of Stanley
Consultants, Inc. and Bison Engineers, Inc. will provide
the information necessary to complete the EIS from the preliminary
design and permitting processes to Mangi for incorporation
into the EIS document.
Interim financing for the development of Highwood Generating
Station will be provided by CoBank with long-term financing
provided by RUS.
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