Wind power potential obvious on the Hi-Line





 We don't know how many people noticed the train full of wind turbine blades that paused in Havre Friday afternoon. It took two railroad cars to haul each massive blade.
	We couldn't help wonder why Havre wasn't their destination. One thing Havre has plenty of is wind. The Anchor Academy north of Havre and Liberty County are already using wind power to reduce their energy costs.
	Havre Mayor Bob Rice has done more than just wonder. He has researched the use of wind power to possibly reduce the energy bill at the water treatment plant.
	There are many on the Hi-Line who have expressed interest in the benefits of wind power, and some ranchers have installed wind generation systems to take advantage of net metering. Net metering is a special installation that allows any surplus energy generated by the customer's system to go back to the utility system and allows the customer to receive credit for that surplus power. Wind power is expensive to install, but in many cases the return on investment pencils out financially. The fact that there are state and federal grants to help cover those costs makes it all the better.
	There are other very real costs of energy that need to be considered. Our county for too long has depended on consumable fossil fuels for the majority of our energy needs, and the demand long ago necessitated a look beyond our borders for oil. Depend-ence on oil from other countries has put our nation at risk of boycotts and price fixing by oil cartels and unfriendly governments. The increased demand for oil has prompted renewed debate about drilling on the Rocky Mountain Front and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. 
	Once again our nation is looking at renewable energy sources like wind, biodiesel  and ethanol, among others,  that can be produced by Mother Nature and America's farmers. They may not pencil out financially in the short term, but as a nation, we have to measure the real costs of purchasing oil abroad, or damaging the few remaining pristine places left in our country. 
	Credit those on the Hi-Line who are looking to alternative energy sources as relief from skyrocketing energy costs and are planning for the future. Our national leaders should take notice and implement an energy policy that puts development of renewable energy at the forefront, and rewards conservation.