Shepherds Flat Wind Farm

Shepherds Flat Wind Farm
Location of Shepherds Flat Wind Farm in Oregon
Country United States
Location Near Arlington, Oregon
Coordinates 45°42′N 120°04′W / 45.70°N 120.06°W / 45.70; -120.06Coordinates: 45°42′N 120°04′W / 45.70°N 120.06°W / 45.70; -120.06
Status Operational
Commission date 2012
Owner(s) Caithness Energy
Power generation
Units operational 338
Make and model General Electric: GE2.5XL 2.5 MW
Nameplate capacity 845 MW
Average generation 2,000 GWh

The Shepherds Flat Wind Farm is an 845 megawatt (MW) wind farm in the U.S. state of Oregon. The facility is located in Eastern Oregon in both Morrow and Gilliam counties, near Arlington. Approved in 2008 by state regulators, groundbreaking came in 2009. The wind farm was built by Caithness Energy using General Electric (GE) 2.5 MW wind turbines, and it supplies electricity to Southern California Edison. The wind farm is estimated to have an economic impact of $16 million annually for Oregon. It is one of the largest land-based wind farms in the world. It officially opened in September 2012.

Details

The wind farm is located in Eastern Oregon in both Morrow and Gilliam counties, with the majority of the turbines to be in Gilliam County.[1] Oregon provided tax incentives to the developer to help land the facility,[1][2] but the project is expected to provide Gilliam County with about $5 million annually in taxes and fees when it is operating.[1] Shepherds Flat is entirely on private property approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) southeast of the city of Arlington between Oregon Route 19 and Oregon Route 74.[3] Construction on the project is expected to employ 400 people to build 90 miles (140 km) of power lines and 85 miles (137 km) of roads on the 30-square-mile (78 km2) wind farm.[4]

Plans for the project first came in 2002 for a 105 megawatt project, with the plan changed to larger project in 2004.[5] The project was then submitted to the state in 2006 with plans to have the first phase online in 2008.[6] Early plans called for 303 turbines and a generating capacity of 909 megawatts.[7] At the time, it would have doubled the capacity for wind-generated power in Oregon.[8] The farm is divided into several sections, with the Willow Creek Wind Farm between two of the larger segments.[9]

Approved in 2008 by state regulators,[3] groundbreaking came in 2009.[1] The project design now includes 338 GE2.5XL turbines built by GE Wind Energy, each with a capacity to produce 2.5 megawatts,[4] and used for the first time in USA.[10] These turbines and a ten-year service contract cost a total of $1.4 billion, the largest expense on the estimated $2 billion project.[4] In December 2010, the Department of Energy (DOE) offered a $1.3 billion loan guarantee for the project. The insurance fee for the loan guarantee would be paid from federal stimulus money through the Financial Institution Partnership Program.[10] Generating capacity will be 845 megawatts, producing an estimated 2 billion kWh each year, enough to provide electricity to 235,000 homes.[4] Once operational, the facility will have about 35 permanent employees.[4] The wind farm is estimated to have an economic impact of $16 million annually for Oregon.[11]

In April 2011, Google announced they had invested $100 million in the project,[12] part of a $500 million investment package announced by GE and including as investors, also, subsidiaries of Itochu Corp. and Sumitomo Corp.. [13] The facility was officially opened on September 22, 2012.[14]

Concerns

There are concerns that have been raised by taxpayer watchdog groups and various blogs. They point out that large private ranch owners in the area will receive up to $12,000 annually per turbine leased on their land while they have already received tens of millions of dollars in U.S. government subsidies over the years and then benefiting from taxpayer subsidies of the wind energy industry. Some local ranchers due to benefit or already benefiting from the partially government subsidized wind energy projects were published as receiving nearly $1 million in government agricultural subsidies in 2008 alone.[15][16][17]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Mills, Erin (July 12, 2009). "Shepherds Flat farm lifts off" (PDF). East Oregonian. Retrieved 11 December 2009.
  2. ↑ Sickinger, Ted (November 28, 2009). "Tax dollars blow away in wind projects". The Oregonian. Retrieved 11 December 2009.
  3. 1 2 "Oregon wind farm could be world's largest". Portland Business Journal. July 28, 2008. Retrieved 11 December 2009.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Yousuf, Hibah (December 10, 2009). "GE to supply world's largest wind farm". CNNMoney.com. Retrieved 11 December 2009.
  5. ↑ Holman, James (August 11, 2008). "Wind farms whip up health fears for Oregon residents near turbines". The Oregonian. Retrieved 11 December 2009.
  6. ↑ "California company plans wind farm in Oregon". Associated Press. July 19, 2006. Retrieved 11 December 2009.
  7. ↑ "Shepherd's Flat Wind Farm". Wind Power. Renewable Energy Development. August 5, 2008. Retrieved 11 December 2009.
  8. ↑ Gunderson, Laura (July 26, 2008). "Unanimous yes vote advances". The Oregonian. Retrieved 12 December 2009.
  9. ↑ Cockle, Richard (March 26, 2009). "Oregon wind farms whip up noise, health concerns". The Oregonian. Retrieved 12 December 2009.
  10. 1 2 DOE LPO finalizes deal on the World’s largest Wind Project to date United States Department of Energy, 17 December 2010. Accessed: 18 December 2010.
  11. ↑ "World's largest wind farm coming to Oregon". Portland Business Journal. December 10, 2009. Retrieved 12 December 2009.
  12. ↑ Needham, Rick (18 April 2011). "Official Google Blog: Shepherding the wind". Official Google Blog. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
  13. ↑ Witkowski, Wallace (18 April 2011). "Google, others invest $500 mln in GE wind farm". MarketWatch. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  14. ↑ "Shepherds Flat wind farm opens Saturday in eastern Oregon". The Oregonian. September 21, 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2012.
  15. ↑ Eilperin, Juliet (16 April 2010). "Pentagon objections hold up Oregon wind farm". The Washington Post.
  16. ↑ "FAA and Air Force Ground Wind Farm Development".
  17. ↑ "Priority Smackdown: Alternative Energy Vs. The Pentagon".
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