RSSFavorable winds for wind farm dedication
Yakima Herald-Republic
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About 300 people showed up Thursday to dedicate Klickitat County's second major wind farm.
The White Creek Wind Project is a 205-megawatt wind farm about 12 miles south of Bickleton. Its 89 turbines on 9,500 acres of ranchland will generate enough electricity to power 38,000 homes.
It began operations in November, but developers waited until spring weather to hold a dedication, which included tours of the facility.
Organizers of outdoor ceremonies always hope for good weather, but White Creek officials were extra particular about the wind, said spokesman Dave Andrew.
They wanted it to blow hard enough "to keep the turbines moving but not so hard to blow our tents over," he said.
They got their wish.
The crowd was a mix of local residents, county commissioners, state legis-lators, investors and utility officials.
The program was anch-ored by a presentation from Aaron Jones, the former executive director of the Washington Rural Electric Cooperative.
The organization, comprised of public utilities, began the development of what they call the largest publicly built wind farm in the United States.
It is now owned by private investors, but the four utilities -- Cowlitz County Public Utility District, Klickitat County Public Utility District, Lakeview Power and Light and Tanner Electric Cooperative -- all purchase electricity from the wind farm.
Klickitat County is also home to Big Horn, a 250-megawatt turbine farm just north of White Creek.
The county envisions wind turbines as an econ-omic boon. Two more projects are under construction and seven have permits.
