Windfall -- Existing transmission lines help make power feasible
KITTITAS -- Every day the wind blows is a good day here at Wild Horse. This barren, windswept hillside that once was home only to wildlife now has a new use.
The 127 huge, slowly spinning white turbines stretch across the ridgeline, northeast of here, generating enough energy to power 55,000 homes annually -- nearly twice the amount needed for every home in the city of Yakima.
This facility, a $380 million investment by investor-owned Puget Sound Energy, is on the leading edge of a rush to harness the wind in Washington state and across the region.
Total capacity in the state has tripled since 2005 to more than 1,160 megawatts, and more is on the way. The state already is fifth in the country in the amount of wind generating capacity on the ground. Texas is first.
Sprouting wind turbines means opportunities for developers, landowners and local communities. They also are a sign of future challenges about how the costs for growing the distribution system are parceled out. More sites are nearing approval in Kittitas County as well as in Klickitat County, which borders the Columbia River Gorge. Even Yakima County may get into the act, with four sites scheduled to be tested for feasibility as wind sites, a process that takes at least a year.
"It really is a sign that renewable energy as a cost-competitive form of energy is here," said Pascal Storck, president and chief operating officer of 3Tier, a rapidly growing Seattle consulting firm that forecasts good sites for wind, solar and hydro power. "It's not something that is waiting for its day."
Wind farms mean much-needed revenues for landowners and tax revenues for school districts and local governments.
Wild Horse, for example, doubled the assessed value of the Kittitas School District, said Brian Lenz , manager of local government and community relations for Puget Sound Energy.
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Windfall -- Existing transmission lines help make power feasible