HELENA
Regulators in Canada have given final approval for a major power line that would link power grids in Montana and Alberta, but the developers still face hurdles in the United States. The Alberta Energy and Utilities Board recently approved plans for the 230-kilovolt line proposed by Montana Alberta Tie Ltd. Building the line is critical to the plans of some wind-powe r developers. Montana-based wind developers have bought all the line's capacity and plan to send power to the growing market in Alberta. Canadian farmers trying to prevent the Montana-Alberta Tie line, which would cross some private farmland, recently received judicial approval to file a court appeal challenging Alberta regulators' support of licensing for the line. A court case could delay the power project but would not stop it, said Marc Clark of Montana Alberta Tie, a subsidiary of Tonbridge Power Inc. based in Toronto. The Alberta Energy Utilities Board last winter required that Montana Alberta Tie engage in a process aimed at resolving disputes with the farmers, and that process is ongoing, said Dixie Baum, a spokeswoman for the power line developers. Regulatory work in the United states includes an environmental impact statement being prepared by t h e Mo n t a n a De p a r tme n t o f Environmental Quality and the federal Department of Energy. The power line, first proposed in 2005, would extend from Alberta's Lethbridge area to a substation near the Montana city of Great Falls. Canada's National Energy Board granted a permit for the project last year. (AP)
