By Greentech Lead Team: Puget Sound Energy has begun the
commercial operations of the Lower Snake River Wind Facility-Phase I, the
largest wind farm in Washington. The project will supply about 100,000 homes
more renewable, emissions-free power.
The new facility located at Garfield County, in southeast
Washington, employs Siemens Energy’s 2.3-megawatt 149 wind turbines. This
343-megawatt (MW) is PSE’s third wind farm.
“This is an important milestone for our customers and for
the people of Garfield County. With this new facility, our region is getting
new jobs and a new source of clean energy,” said Kimberly
Harris, president and CEO of PSE.
PSE began
construction of the Lower Snake River Wind Facility in May 2010 with the help
of lead contractor Renewable Energy Systems Americas Inc. (RES Americas).
“RES Americas was excited to be part of this large
wind-energy project, which provided hundreds of jobs and major economic
benefits to the Washington community. This project epitomized what wind energy
can provide the country,” said Jason Zingerman, vice president of Construction
for RES Americas.
The project created approximately 150 jobs during the
construction and about 25 permanent employees from PSE and Siemens Energy now
operate the facility and maintain its wind turbines.
The wind facility’s power output ties into the Northwest
electric grid at the Bonneville Power Administration’s newly completed Central
Ferry substation, constructed along the wind farm’s northern boundary. Lower
Snake River power moves across BPA transmission lines to reach PSE’s
distribution system.
“The substation is one of several facilities built to interconnect
wind with the electric grid and will play a vital role in meeting the region’s
current and future energy needs,” said Brian Silverstein, senior vice
president, BPA Transmission Services.
The Lower Snake River wind farm spans more than 21,600 acres
in western Garfield County. The footprint of its wind turbines, substations,
access roads and eight-mile corridor of transmission-line poles covers just 200
acres; the rest of the site remains available for farming.
Recently, PSE announced a new funding direction
and the launch of its new website. The 2012 funding priority will focus on
safety and emergency preparedness, which open the funding door to charitable
organizations which may have never before sought funding from PSE Foundation.