Oregon-based utility Portland General Electric Co. (PGE) has announced that its 267 MW Tucannon River wind farm is online in Washington.
Tucannon River is PGE's second fully owned and operated large-scale wind project and features 116 Siemens turbines. Jim Piro, PGE president and CEO, says the new wind farm will help the utility meet Oregon's 15% by 2015 and 25% by 2025 renewable portfolio standard.
"Tucannon River Wind Farm is a key infrastructure investment that will serve our customers with clean, renewable energy for decades to come," comments Piro. "Tucannon River supports a balanced, diverse energy portfolio for reliable, reasonably priced power."
The Tucannon River project is located on 20,000 acres near Dayton, Wash., and the wind farm is providing economic support to the region.
"The Tucannon River wind farm has been a great addition to Columbia County and the Dayton community," says Mike Talbott, Columbia County chair. "The project brought hundreds of construction jobs to the region and now 18 permanent, family-wage positions to the Dayton community. It's also bringing income to local businesses and increasing county tax revenue. We're happy to have PGE in our community."
Renewable Energy Systems Americas Construction Inc. built the project for PGE. Power generated at Tucannon River will be brought to the utility's customers via a new interconnection at Central Ferry Substation constructed by the Bonneville Power Administration.