This is an excerpt from EERE Network News, a weekly electronic newsletter.
December 08, 2004
New Large Wind Power Plants Planned for Washington and Oregon
The Pacific Northwest may soon see more wind energy projects, as two new wind power plants are in the works for Washington and Oregon.
In Washington, Blue Sky Wind, LLC is proposing to build a 150-megawatt wind power project in Columbia County, near the southeast corner of the state. Puget Sound Energy (PSE) signed a letter of intent with Blue Sky to purchase the project, which should be complete in late 2005 or early 2006. PSE estimates the cost of the project at roughly $200 million. While some utilities eschew owning wind plants in favor of simply buying the power from others, the new proposed purchase is the second for PSE. See the PSE press release.
In Oregon, Columbia Energy Partners LLC (CEP) is planning to build a 104-megawatt wind power project near Arlington, at about the center of the state's northern border. The Arlington Wind Farm will consist of 63 1.65-megawatt wind turbines and should be completed in 2005. The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation announced on December 2nd that they will invest in the project. Before entering into a partnership agreement with CEP, the tribe and CEP worked with DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory to analyze wind data collected over two years at the site. Those wind tests found ample wind resources, with winds averaging 14 to 15 miles per hour at the site. See the CEP Web site and the Umatilla Tribe press release.
Meanwhile, other large wind power projects are moving ahead. GE Energy announced in late November that it will supply 207 of its 1.5-megawatt wind turbines to MidAmerican Energy Company, which is installing a total of 310.5 megawatts of wind power at two sites in Iowa. Vestas, a Danish wind company, announced it will supply 36 of its 1.65-megawatt wind turbines to Nebraska Public Power District for its 60-megawatt wind plant. And on a smaller scale, American Municipal Power-Ohio (AMP-Ohio) announced that its wind facility in Ohio, the state's largest, has doubled in size to 7.2 megawatts. The facility, near Bowling Green, consists of four 1.8-megawatt wind turbines. See the GE Power and Vestas press releases and the November 19th press release from AMP-Ohio.
