Portland General Electric Co. (PGE) has announced that the first turbines assembled for Phase III of its Biglow Canyon Wind Farm have begun generating electricity and supplying power to the Pacific Northwest's electricity grid. Twenty-four turbines are currently generating power, with all 76 turbines in Phase III expected to be completed by the end of the third quarter.
The $1 billion Biglow Canyon Wind Farm, located in Sherman County, Ore., is PGE's first fully owned wind power facility. Phase I of the project began producing power in December 2007 with 76 turbines. Phase II began producing power in August 2009 with 65 turbines. Both phases have a combined generating capacity of 275 MW. The addition of the final phase will bring the total installed capacity to 450 MW.
Each of the 415-foot-tall turbines has a generating capacity of 2.3 MW. Phase III is providing jobs for about 150 employees and contractors during construction, according to PGE.
The Biglow Canyon project was developed by Orion Energy LLC. It is being built by PGE, which also owns and operates it.
SOURCE: Portland General Electric Co.
