SEPTEMBER 2008: AROUND THE STATE
State
OK’s world’s largest wind farm
ARLINGTON State energy officials have approved a plan that
would make Gilliam and Morrow counties in northeastern Oregon
home to the world’s largest wind farm.
The Shepherds Flat wind farm’s 303 wind turbines will be
capable of producing 909 megawatts, or enough electricity to
power upward of 225,000 homes, doubling the state’s
current output of wind farm electricity, according to Oregon
Department of Energy assistant director Diana Enright.
Shepherds Flat also will provide an economic boost to the
rural Oregon counties. It is expected to employ 250 to 300
people during its construction, and create 25 permanent jobs
once operational, says Enright.
“The most beneficial aspect of the wind farm will be the
property tax it provides,” says Gilliam County Judge
Patricia Shaw. The project is to be developed on private land
about five miles southeast of Arlington. The annual lease
payments to landowners will also help supplement farm income,
according to the energy department.
Caithness Shepherds Flat LLC of Sacramento is developing the
project. Enright says she is unsure when the wind farm would be
operational, but added that Caithness has two years to
construct under its site certificate.
CHRIS MILLER
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