HELENA (LEE)—On a party-line vote with Democrats in favor, a Senate committee Wednesday evening endorsed a bill designed to allow a “green energy” cooperative to pursue two small wind-power projects in Eastern Montana.

The Senate Natural Resources Committee voted 5-4 for Senate Bill 337, which would enable the Billings-based cooperative to own the $31.7 million projects and sell bonds to finance them.

Sen. Dave Wanzenried, D-Missoula, the sponsor of the bill, said it will give “the green light to green energy” by allowing utility customers to choose to buy renewable energy from small, independent wind projects.

“This bill relies on the consumer having a choice to do this,” he said.

SB337 now advances to the Senate floor for debate and a vote, possibly later this week.

While all four Republicans on the panel voted against the measure, Russ Doty, executive director of the Green Energy Buying Co-op, said he’s hopeful that promoting wind power won’t become a partisan issue at the 2007 Legislature.

“Republicans like (Gov.) Arnold Schwarzenegger in California, former Governor (George) Pataki of New York and Governor (Tim) Pawlenty of Minnesota are great champions of wind power,” Doty said. “We welcome any participation from any political spectrum.”

SB337 has a companion bill that would allow counties and other local governments to develop small wind projects. That measure, House Bill 330, was endorsed by the House Tuesday on a 75-25 vote.

The buying co-op plans to finance two 10-megawatt wind-power projects — one near Molt, just west of Billings, and one south of Fort Peck. Doty has said that if all goes as planned, the projects could be up and running in two years.

The projects would provide enough power for about 6,000 residential customers, as well as dozens of jobs during the construction phases.

SB337 authorizes the co-op to own and operate power-generating equipment, such as windmills, and to own power lines to transport its electricity to the system that serves utility customers in Montana.

Members of the co-op would buy the electricity generated by the windmills. The power would be transported to customers along lines owned by regular utilities, such as NorthWestern Energy and Montana-Dakota Utilities, which would charge consumers for the green power.

Doty has said the initial price will be higher than current rates from traditional utilities, but that the cost could decline or become less than traditional power in the future.

The projects also are part of a program authorized by Congress, gives bonding authority to local governments and co-ops to finance renewable or “green” energy projects. In Montana, two co-ops and dozens of local governments won authorization late last year.