Montana Public Service Commission extends contract term for solar project

The Montana Public Service Commission (PSC) recently granted a request from MTSUN and NorthWestern Energy to lengthen the contract available for a proposed 80-megawatt solar farm near Billings from 10 years to 15.

The Commission denied several requests by the company for increases to the rate consumers would pay for electricity produced by the project.

“The Commission grappled with how to balance a desire to protect ratepayers from long-term contract risk with the legal requirement that developers be given sufficient certainty to support investment in renewable energy,” Commissioner Tony O’Donnell said. “After a thorough review of the record evidence, in this case, we found a contract term of 15 years to be a fair compromise that allows the project to potentially move forward without exposing customers to excessive risk.”

MTSUN proposed higher rates based on forward market data from when the company filed its initial petition in December 2016. The developer also sought to reintroduce a carbon-cost component to rates, which the PSC rejected.

The Commission preserved the option for NorthWestern and MTSUN to negotiate separately for the transfer of renewable energy credits.

“I applaud my colleagues for having the wisdom to maintain their rejection of what I have long called the phantom CO2 tax,” Commissioner Roger Koopman said. “There is simply no way that consumers should be forced to pay for costs that don’t now exist, and may never exist.”