STOP THE GRID

The Green Energy Redistribution of Wealth Initiative

By Zona Hale

January 31st, 2010 was a heart stopping day for Broadwater County residents. That was the day that we got our first glimpse of what Northwestern Energy and our Government had in mind for our future. On that day, Helena’s Independent Record published a map showing a spider vein configuration of transmission lines converging on the private property owners in the county. On that day, residents began to realize that their home was ground zero for a far reaching plan that would encompass over half the counties of Montana and extend into multiple states. This is a story with so many moving pieces that it resembles a battle plan that is being executed across this nation in every state against an unsuspecting public.

THE BEGINNING
Northwestern Energy published a notice in the Townsend Star in 2007 for a public meeting concerning the 350 to 390 mile MSTI (Mountain States Transmission Intertie) high voltage transmission line and a 52 to 70 acre substation five miles south of Townsend. Few people saw the notice and fewer yet attended the meeting. More importantly, no one recognized that this was the first step in a much larger project. According to Northwestern Energy, planning for MSTI began in 2004. In 2005, Congress enacted the National Energy Policy Act to strengthen the nation’s electric power grid that ultimately identified energy corridors in 11 western states (Western Interconnection) and 37 eastern states (Eastern Interconnection). Residents investigated further and discovered a pamphlet published in the first quarter of 2010 produced by the Energy Promotion and Development Division of the Montana Department of Commerce for the Governor’s Office of Economic Development titled Montana Transmission for America. This document showcases six new major transmission projects under study and development and discusses over 50 wind projects in various stages of development in Montana. A map of these 50 wind projects was published by NW Energy in material titled The Economics of New Transmission in Montana. Five transmission lines on the Department of Commerce map will cross Broadwater County in addition to the existing 500kV Bonneville/NW Energy line including the 500kV MSTI line, the 500kV Chinook line, the 230kV Grasslands Renewable Energy lines, two Northwestern Energy feeder lines in addition to the Colstrip 500kV upgrade. Recently, Northwestern Energy published an additional document online based on the current queue for transmission service that lists five 230kV lines destined for the Townsend substation. These lines come from developing wind farms from Great Falls, Judith Gap, Belt, Broadview and Ennis. Residents continued their search and found a BLM map that was published in March 2009 showing another 500kV line which would parallel the MSTI line called the Northern Lights Inland Project. We also found a Department of Energy map published in April 2007 depicting the routes for what is known as the backbone of the grid system for a proposed 765kV line that will span the entire length of Montana. All of the proposed transmission line projects on these maps are designed to export energy out of state to coastal markets and the Southwestern US.

THE PROCESS
According to Montana’s Major Facilities Siting Act, utility companies do not have to provide notice to land owners “no less than 60 days prior to the commencement of acquisition of right-of-way by publication of a summary describing the transmission facility and the proposed location of the facility in those newspapers that will substantially inform those persons of the construction ….” (75-20-2-7) This means that utility companies can nearly complete the permitting process before the public is even notified, which in effect excludes public participation and intervention.

The permitting process requires that Northwestern Energy provide the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) with one preferred route for MSTI and two alternative routes. The DEQ is the state agency with regulatory authority over the siting of the transmission line routes. However, DEQ does not have regulatory authority over the siting of substations. The last Montana Legislature took that authority out of the law and Broadwater County residents have requested the Montana State Attorney General to provide clarity as to who does have regulatory authority over the siting of substations. This is significant because if County Commissioners have that authority, it is a game changer. Utility companies build transmission lines from substation to substation so the location of these substations is of paramount importance and the primary determinate as to where the transmission lines go.

DEQ will release a draft EIS presumably in mid June 2010. The public will have 60 to 90 days to comment. Following that will be the release of the Final EIS and the public will only have a 15 day comment period. At that point, the permitting process will be complete and Northwestern Energy can then begin negotiations with landowners for right-of-ways and if that process fails they can begin the condemnation process.

THE NEW REDISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH PLAN FOR AMERICA
The majority of the proposed routes for MSTI in Broadwater County are on private property. Alternative 1A is 76% on private land, 1B is 74% on private land, 1C is 86% on private land and 1D, a line with alternatives to line 1B is 76% on private land. The majority of the land that MSTI will traverse in Broadwater County is range land with a market value of between $900 and $2500 per acre. Northwestern Energy is required to pay an average of 75% of the market value for an estimated 10 acres a mile which equates to an estimated $12,750 one- time payment to the property owner per mile of right-of-way. According to the First Draft EIS which was distributed to the agencies, the MSTI project would permanently convert agricultural land to non-agricultural use. This document stated that there would be permanent loss of agricultural land, i.e., grazing, hay ground, farm, irrigation systems and irrigated crop lands. (Chap 4, p. 4-46 through 4-48) Many agriculturalists will be forced out of business and yet they will still own the property and still have to pay taxes on it. Northwestern Energy is telling property owners that they will receive tax breaks if the lines are on their property. The tax exemptions do not apply to 1) the boundaries of an incorporated or unincorporated city or town, 2) a platted and filed subdivision, 3)tracts of land used for residential, commercial or industrial purposes, 4) the 1 acre of land beneath improvements on parcels of land 20 acres or more but less than 160 acres under one ownership AND land beneath agricultural improvements, i.e. barns, sheds, silos, cribs, greenhouses, and like structures, lakes, dams, ponds, streams, irrigation ditches and like facilities. Inaccessible tax exemptions and the inability to conduct business is not a winning business model for anyone. Given the loss of production capabilities and relative steep decline in property value, they will find themselves in a position where they cannot sell these properties. Property owners who find themselves sandwiched between lines in a spider vein scenario get nothing. Yet they experience the same deep declines in property value, ill effects on their health, loss of aesthetic value, etc.

Conversely, Broadwater County can expect to increase its property tax base by 160%-423%. This equates to approximately $50,000 per mile of right-of-way annually to county government. In addition, the taxable value for the substation site is $14.4 million netting a $3.56 million dollar annual property tax payment. Similar disparities between private and public benefit to these kinds of projects exist throughout the country. The utility company, Northwest Energy, acts as a pass through agent for the collection of these tax revenues paid by their rate payers. This is a process that allows state and local governments to exact taxes without a vote.

This constitutes a major transfer of wealth out of the hands of private property owners and into the hands of the state. Montana revenue expenditures reveal that nearly 85% of all tax revenues are dedicated to salary, insurance and retirement benefits of government employees. (eredux.com) Class warfare is alive and well in Montana between the government and the private sector and the private sector is losing.

Over 80% of the land in the Western US is owned by the government. It is confounding that so many of these proposed transmission lines are designed to go on private land. The consequence of this will result in a major loss of agricultural production all over the west and ultimately a depopulating of rural America. Most of the developing wind farms are spread out across large areas, each necessitating a transmission line into a line like MSTI. Each transmission line requires additional acreage for access roads and other support structures. According to the Farmers’ Legal Action Group, an average commercial-scale wind project requires about 60 acres of land for each megawatt (MW) of installed generation capacity. Montana hopes to create over 5000 MW of wind capacity with the projects in development. That equates to a conversion of over 300,000 acres of farm and range land to energy production, not including the loss of land use under transmission lines.

CONDEMNATION VS. LEASING
Most wind generation facilities pay the land owner an annual lease that can range from $2,500 to $5,000 per turbine or $3,000 to $4,000 per MW of generating capacity. Compare that with what is happening in Wyoming where the Department of Energy is proposing 3500’ energy corridors which will take 424.24 acres out of every 640 acres, all through condemnation. Landowners there are demanding that these transmission line corridor right-of-ways be treated like windmill leases where the property owner receives an annual lease. The multi-million dollar argument is who has rightful ownership to these revenues. Given the inequities in the law, property owners everywhere have expressed similar sentiments. It is generally agreed that it is inappropriate for the state and big corporations to reap the financial rewards that arguably belong to the private property owner. As it stands today, the laws are not in their favor. Interestingly, after acquiring a right-of-way, utility companies turn around and advertise leases on their right-of-ways across private property for communication lines, fuel lines, electrical lines, industrial sites, and a host of other leasable options.

ANOTHER TAX SCAM, ANOTHER BUBBLE TO BURST
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 dictated an additional 10,000 megawatts of renewable energy on public lands by 2015. Lawmakers are now pushing for a 33% target of our energy coming from renewable sources by the end of 2020. To that end, almost $2.2 billion of our stimulus tax dollars have been spent to reimburse companies for 30% of their investment in renewable energy with nearly $1.9 billion going to wind power. With all this stimulus, big utility companies are building gigantic wind and solar farms, further centralizing and controlling energy production, and connecting them all with thousands of miles of transmission lines. States and County Commissioners are being told that if they do not complete an application seeking approval for the siting of a facility with a state commission within a year that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) will step in and do it for them. In fact, the Cap and Trade bill H.R. 2454 that is currently in the senate, has just such a provision under section 216B. It is not the law of the land yet. It is important to note that the “Energy Policy Act of 2005 provided the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) with the authority to override State action on certain transmission line projects. This authority, known as backstop, applies to transmission lines located within one of two National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors (NIETC). A group in the eastern US won a case challenging this in February 2009. What this means is that if a state denies a NIETC transmission line for legitimate reasons, then FERC backstop authority cannot be used to reverse the denial.” (CEDS.org) Never the less, Nevada senator Harry Reid has introduced legislation to fast tract the way for “electric superhighways” and declared it a “top national priority”.

It is estimated that by 2025 there will be 42,000 wind towers covering 2,750 square miles and destroying 19.7 million acres of the ecosystem in the USA and all to produce only 3.7% of our needs. To top it off, wind power cannot exist without the construction of new conventional power plants to fill in the gaps when the wind doesn’t blow. Wind generated power cannot be built or continue to exist without government subsidies because wind power cannot stand on its own. The comparisons are staggering. Americans pay $23.34 in government subsidies for one MWH of wind power compared to $.0.25 for natural gas, $0.44 for coal, $0.67 for hydro power and $1.59 for nuclear power. As the Wall Street Journal said, “wind generation is the prime example of what can go wrong when the government decides to pick winners.” (bluemountainalliance.org)

Subsidies build green energy and the loss of subsidies kills green energy. This has already happened in Spain, Portugal and Greece. Europe has experienced this debacle over the last 20 years. Their idea of a subsidy was called the “Feed in Tariff” where the EU governments provided government-backed securities to support utilities. The government debt related to renewable energies rose to the tune of $27.7 billion dollars that they now have no way of paying for. When Spain reduced the alternative subsidies by 30% in early 2009, the whole pyramid scheme collapsed leaving all of Europe with a financial crisis. The European wind developers have fled Europe and are now here in America starting over. According to an analysis published by the Investigative Reporting Workshop, nearly 80% of the stimulus monies for green energy have gone to foreign firms. A list of all the grants made through January 20, 2010 can be found on their website at investigativereportingworkshop.org.

A similar American experience has already occurred at the state level in California and Hawaii. Six wind farm sites in Hawaii have been abandoned while over 14,000 turbines in California lie motionless. Like today, federal and state mandates and incentives along with tax subsidies totaling more than $2.4 billion built these sites. Investors were able to recover up to 50% of a wind turbine’s cost which brought about a flood of development. California has been developing wind energy for nearly 30 years and it still accounts for only 2.3% of their electrical use.

Recent history in this country and overseas demonstrates that wind farm developers have a strong incentive to sell off or abandon their projects after the 5-6 years of accelerated depreciation and 10 years of tax credits. These fields are expensive to maintain, performance deteriorates and maintenance costs rise as the useful ten year life of turbines expires. Wind farms are left to rust, transmission lines go unused while lease monies dry up and property tax revenues disappear.

NEED AND NECESSITY
The development of energy policy in this country is very much like the development of health care policy. It is being conducted without a national, state or local debate of what the people want. The current fervor over expansion of this nation’s energy grid is born out of commerce and not out of true need. As you might expect, this nation’s energy industry with its $130 billion residential electrical market is taking direct steps to thwart other more environmental and people friendly alternatives. Profit and control of the industry is their primary goal and that goal is being achieved with a shift in their business model.

State regulations require that utilities must prove there is a need before they are granted certificates. Traditional need has been tied to “local load-serving need” not the kind of need that utility companies are involved in today. A shift has occurred to a market-based dispatch where utility company generation is no longer for service of local needs but for regional and national electricity markets. There is a big difference between serving local needs and playing the market. The new economic model for energy companies allows for the cheapest energy to be sold first and buyers queue up in line. Carol A. Overland who is a utility regulatory attorney wrote Transmission Lies that expounds upon this with great clarity. Essentially, actual energy use in this country has decreased by 3-9 percent resulting in a 4.5-11 percent drop in forecasted demand. Growth in electricity use has slowed since 2002, was flat in 2007-2008, and has declined in 2009. The decline in need is a consequence of demand-response measures and conservation efforts like energy efficient appliances and light bulbs. Experts in this field expect that it is unlikely that energy use will rebound to pre-2002 levels with the introduction of smart grids and expanding conservation efforts. However, utility companies are still using outdated projections that do not reflect the changes in electric service needs like conservation and demand-response to justify need when they apply for certificates. It is precisely this issue that is killing projects all over the country when challenged legally. Playing the market is what Montana’s energy policy has been designed to do as evidenced by the fact that all of the new proposed transmission lines are for exporting energy out of the state. The reality that Montanan’s may be facing if the Governor’s energy plan succeeds is that we could find ourselves competing with California’s high priced market and see our utility rates double or even triple.

The increase in costs for energy is not the only cost Montanans may be saddled with. The utility industry has a term called “socialization” which applies to spreading the cost of construction of transmission lines across states. For example, when a line travels through five states and the last two states are the end users, ratepayers in all five states pay part of the costs of construction. Northwestern Energy has told our county that only the end users will pay for the construction of MSTI because this area does not have a Regional Transmission Organization (RTO) where socialization can be applied. The Public Service Commission, however, is investigating whether the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has regulations in place that would in fact permit socialization of these lines.

GREEN ISN’T GREEN AFTER ALL
In addition to the vast tracts of land destined to be converted to wind farms and agricultural lands covered with transmission lines, there appears to be a great deal of unintended consequences to going green. President Obama’s green energy initiative was supposed to reduce carbon emissions, reduce global warming, create environmentally friendly energy and make America more energy independent.

According to the EPA, “sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) is the most potent greenhouse gas studied to date, with a global warming impact of 23,900 times CO2, and a much longer lifespan (estimated at 3,200 years, compared to CO2’s 50-100 years.) Almost all of it is used and emitted in electrical transmission and distribution, with big spikes in emissions during construction of lines. In 1998, U.S. emissions of SF6 were estimated at 10 million metric tons of carbon equivalent.” (basinandrangewatch.org)

According to Mick Sagrillo of the American Wind Energy Association (2003), high tension power lines in the US could be killing 130-174 million birds a year based on European studies. Studies in Holland estimate that there are 60,000 to 100,000 bird collisions per 1,000 MW installed capacity on wind farms. Applying those figures to the U.S. gives us an estimate of 1,020,000 to 1,700,000 bird collisions per annum based on studies conducted by Bernd Koop, a professor whose background is not in wildlife studies but in energy policy.

Many people question why Northwestern Energy doesn’t just bury the lines. It is a very good question. Lines have been buried in Boston, San Diego, San Francisco, and Chicago. Connecticut passed a law that lines be buried whenever possible. Burying the lines is common place in Europe, Asia, Australia and Canada. Even 500kV lines can be buried. It is a worldwide industry trend. It not only reduces visual impacts but mitigates the economic effects on property value losses, the loss in productivity to farm and forest, tourism income losses, environmental damage and health costs. More importantly, grid infrastructure poses a threat to national security because it is vulnerable to terrorist threats. Anyone can target above ground lines and substations. These kinds of threats represent another cost to consumers. Burying the lines makes them less of a target. Some studies indicate that burying the lines can cost ten times more than above ground construction. Joe Mar, a legislator from Virginia traveled to Europe to see how they handle the issue, where it is practically the only way new lines are constructed. He found that they employ much more cost effective methods than what American counterparts are doing. Burying the lines is a bargain over a hundred year transmission life span especially for those who have to live with them.

ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS AND YOUR HEALTH
There are two types of energy that transmission lines produce: electrical and magnetic. The electrical fields depend on voltage and can be stopped by most building materials. Magnetic fields are caused by the flow of energy and can penetrate most materials and the only protection from them is distance from the source. It is generally accepted among experts that it is the magnetic fields that pose health risks.

In 1990 the EPA recommended that EMF’s be classified as a Class B carcinogen and join the ranks of formaldehyde, DDT, dioxins, and PCB’s. The military, who is the largest user of the electromagnetic spectrum, especially for military communications and lobbyists for utilities among others forced a revision in the classification. The Federal government does not regulate EMF’s and the electric industry has been allowed to set its own standards.

Exposure to electromagnetic energy is measured in milligauss(mG). Current epidemiological studies document adverse health effects at anything above 4mG. The general rule is that if you can hear a power line you are definitely within 50 to 100 milligauss. Measurements under the existing Bonneville/NW Energy line during non-peak usage are at between 180 and 200 milligauss. Most European countries consider the safe level of exposure is at 2.5mG. The standard and guideline of 2.5mG is widely accepted throughout the world but not in the United States. The EMF level at the edge of the right-of-way of a 500kV transmission line is approximately 25 to 50 times what the latest studies say is safe. Hundreds of feet away from smaller lines can measure 10 to 20 milligauss.

After a seven-year study, The California Department of Health Sciences Evaluation on EMF’s concluded that EMF’s can cause childhood leukemia, adult brain cancer, Lou Gehrig’s disease and miscarriage. A study by the Kaiser Foundation Research Institute found that there is a three-fold increase in overall spontaneous abortions and a six fold increase in spontaneous abortions occurring before the 10th week of pregnancy with momentary exposure to magnetic fields greater than 16mG. A California Project Report concluded that up to 40% of all early-term spontaneous abortions may be attributable to EMF’s. The same study concluded that exposure to a moderate 6mG increased by a factor of 12 the odds of developing an aggressive brain cancer in children and adults called giloblastoma multiforme. Martin Roosli at Switzerland’s University of Bern reported that people living within 50 meters of a high-voltage power lines were more likely to die with Alzheimer’s. The longer they lived near a 220-380 kV power line, the greater the risk: the odds doubled after 15 years of exposure. Denis Henshaw, a physics professor at Bristol University in England, linked power lines to leukemia, skin cancer, lung cancer, depression and suicide. A report by the U.S. National Council on Radiation Protection said there was impressive evidence showing that even very low exposure to EM radiation has long-term effects on health. Another epidemiological report released in 1994 linked exposure to SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). Some experimental studies show that even weak magnetic fields can change brain chemistry, impair the immune system, and inhibit the synthesis of melatonin which is a hormone known to suppress several types of tumors linking it to breast cancer in both men and women. An EPA report linked EMF’s to leukemia, brain tumors, breast and prostate cancer, and even birth defects. The Cancer Research Center in Seattle, WA confirmed that telephone linemen, electricians and electric-power workmen are developing breast cancer at six times the expected rate. A large study released in 2000 said there was a possible link between exposure to EMF’s and suicide among electric utility workers. A Washington State Department of Health report suggested that EMF’s are a key cause of the four-fold increase in the incidence of childhood leukemia between 1920 and 1960. It said the “the most remarkable feature of childhood leukemia has been the development of a childhood peak of incidence at ages two through four…worldwide, the emergence of this peak tracks electrification. Even today, places without electrification do not show this peak”. An assessment of studies put out by the BioInitiative Report: A Rationale for a Biologically-based Public Exposure standard for EMF’s said that EMF exposure could result in a diminished capacity for thinking, judgment, memory, learning and control over behavior. The same report said that chronic exposure could increase allergic and inflammatory responses. People also report symptoms such as problems with insomnia, fatigue, headaches, dizziness, grogginess, lack of concentration, tinnitus, problems with balance and orientation, and difficulty in multi-tasking. Chronic inflammatory responses could lead to cellular, tissue and organ damage over time. This same report says that EMF’s may cause DNA breakage and that there is a risk of reproducing damaged cells if they don’t die from the breakage. EMF’s can also interfere with pacemaker function and the use of defibrillators.

Some doctors believe that it is possible that magnetic fields act as a cancer promoter and stimulate cancer cell growth. A researcher from San Antonio discovered that human cancer cells exposed to 60 Hz fields (the frequency of a high-voltage transmission line) grew as much as 24 times as fast as unexposed cells and showed increased resistance to destruction by the body’s defense system. Obviously more studies need to be done but as one researcher put it, “It’s next to impossible to get money to do these studies”.

Robert Becker, MD, researcher and author of Cross Currents, The Perils of Electropollution, and The Body Electric said that “EMF’s could turn out to be a far worse environmental disaster, affecting far more people than toxic waste, radiation or asbestos.”

DECENTRALIZE THE GRID
There is in fact an energy solution which doesn’t result in lost acreage to landowners, declining property values, decimated ecosystems, expanded fossil fuel consumption, eminent domain proceedings, a financial impact on rate payers, impacts to other industries like tourism, agriculture, recreation, has no deleterious health effects and doesn’t take years to develop or multiple billions of tax dollars to accomplish. It is as simple as decentralizing the grid.

One aspect of this solution is called the microgrid. Some intelligent community leaders are taking this path. For example, Minnesota regulators looked at a project called CapX 2020 that proposed a cluster of new power lines costing $1.7 billion. The stated purpose of the project was to link Minnesota with proposed wind farms in the Dakotas. The energy increase was to be 600 megawatts. Instead, they found that they could develop many small 10-40 megawatt wind farms within the state and create the same megawatts without miles of transmission lines and without the equivalent expense. A smart move. (Rose: Think Solar, Think Small 2009) This is an example of moving the source of energy production closer to the need for energy. The coastal areas of the U.S. have the best wind resources in the country. However, they don’t want the wind farms in their back yard, they want them in our front yard. Similarly, coal could be shipped to them and they could produce their own energy eliminating the need for thousands of miles of transmission lines and reducing the cost of energy. The question is why should rural Americans suffer an economic collapse for urban electrical needs that only government and big business benefit from?

Another alternative is roof top solar and wind. Can you envision walking into Home Depot and buying a wind or solar appliance that is as easy to install as a washer or dryer? (Kamemetz: Why the Microgrid Could be the Answer to Our Energy Crisis 2009) Companies like GE and IBM are counting on it. You should too. Imagine where we would be today if all the stimulus dollars that have gone to foreign companies had gone to homeowners instead. In the last two years, homeowners and businesses in California have generated the same amount of energy by way of rooftop solar and wind and within the same amount of time that it would have taken the state to get a pair of 250MW solar plants approved for installation. This concept would have eliminated the need to expand the grid entirely. Big utility companies are taking steps to thwart these options at the state and national level. Unfortunately, they act as a pseudo tax collector for the government, so they have a powerful ally.

ELIMINATING THE WEAPON THAT DIVIDES US
As previously stated, the laws that require Northwestern Energy to propose one preferred route and two alternative routes positions the utility company and government agencies to execute one of the most potent proven weapons used in warfare throughout the ages: the divide and conquer strategy. It pits neighbor against neighbor, county against county, state against state and citizens against their government. It is a diversionary tactic. It is also unbelievably effective. At the end of the day, everyone loses sight of what is actually a better solution. A better solution means that we frame the argument from our perspective; the people’s perspective. The only option for residents of Montana and all around the nation is to take this weapon away from those who benefit at our expense. What that means is no more arguing or advocating where the lines should go. No more doing to your neighbor what you would not want done to yourself. What it means is a united front. All residents of all counties uniting for one clearly defined endgame. That end game is: NO NEW TRANSMISSION LINES; NO NEW SUBSTATIONS; NO MORE ILLCONCEIVED WIND FARMS; NO CONDEMNATION OF PRIVATE PROPERTY; NO MORE TAX SCAMS; NO TO IT ALL. To that end, organized communities in the path of MSTI have already united. We are coordinating with communities in Idaho. We invite other communities all across this state, region and nation to join us. Uniting for a just tomorrow is the All-American patriotic thing to do. American’s cannot afford another economic boondoggle. As a citizen, we have a duty to participate in our own futures for ourselves and for those who follow us. Let’s work together. You can contact us at stopthegrid.org (under construction and will be up soon).

The United Citizens of Broadwater County
ZS Hale
zshale@gmail.com
ZSHale @ 406-980-1087
Contact: Micki @ 406-558-4641