State economic chief promotes wind energy during Bozeman visit
By DANIEL PERSON Chronicle Staff Writer

At Tech Ranch Wednesday, Gov. Brian Schweitzer's chief economic advisor pushed wind power and suggested a heavier reliance on it is in Montana's future.
But Evan Barrett also said improving transmission of the power out of the state will be vital as Montana attempts to capitalize on its wind potential, the best in the United States.
"We are bottlenecked, transmission wise, now," he said after his presentation to about 30 people.
Barrett was touring the Gallatin Valley Wednesday to get a read on the economic activity of the area and tell business leaders about the governor's goals in the state economy.
His talk made clear that wind was a high priority.
Barrett said the governor's office is working on ways to export wind-generated energy to neighboring Alberta, Idaho and Washington, as well as transmitting it to California, where state law requires one-fifth of the energy come from renewable sources by 2010.
In Montana, about 10 percent of energy pulled off the grid today is produced by wind, Barrett said. The Montana Legislature has set a goal of 15 percent, and Barrett said the administration "expects that to go higher," although he would not say if Schweitzer intended to introduce legislation to do so if reelected in November.
The governor's office is beginning to prepare for next winter's legislative session, and, as with education, it is tempering expectations for funding.
About a dozen programs aimed at aiding small businesses in Montana are scheduled to sunset in 2009, Barrett said, and they are the governor's top priority for funding.
During the lunchtime gathering, some business leaders did make suggestions for ways the state could bolster Montana's business climate.
Anne Marie Quinn, founder and CEO of Montana Molecular, suggested the state look into matching certain kinds of grants given to small businesses by the federal government. Other states are already matching the grants, she said, and Montana may be at risk of loosing some of its fledgling businesses to the lucrative grant programs. Lance Trebesch, CEO of Elk River Systems, emphasized the importance of broadband Internet service across Montana. His company operates out of Harlowton, and relies on information technology to run his business. "We need to keep making that pipe bigger," he said. Barrett said the state government would know in October how much money there was to spend.