[Blogger's note: Wisconsin will have to deal with many of the same issues identified in this article as our generation capabilities increase. The following are key excerpts from an article in the Seattle times.]
Billions of dollars of investment during the past decade have created a wind-power corridor that stretches more than 170 miles along the Columbia in Eastern Washington and Oregon, vaulting the Northwest to the leading edge of national efforts to develop this renewable energy source.
The Northwest wind industry, which currently is able to generate more than 2,700 megawatts of electricity during peak winds, is expected to more than double or triple in size by 2016.
The expansion is driven by federal incentives that offer generous tax credits or stimulus grants to wind-power producers.
Four years ago, Washington voters passed an initiative that requires utilities to harness 15 percent of their power from these renewable sources by 2020.
Cannon [Power Group] expects to tap into $200 million in federal grants to help complete its more than $1 billion investment in Washington.
Turbine owners pay local landowners more than $10 million in annual lease fees, and wind projects currently generate about $3.5 million in property-tax revenue annually.
Several times in recent months, BPA has asked wind-power producers to throttle back production the grid couldn't absorb.
On the Oregon side of the Columbia, the largest wind farm in the world--a $2 billion project with 330 turbines--is scheduled to begin operations in 2012. The farm will sell all that power to Southern Edison, a California utility.
Click here to read the full article from the Seattle Times.
Wisconsin Wind Works is a consortium of nearly 300 suppliers and manufacturer's working collaboratively to satisfy foreign and domestic wind power supply chain needs.
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