GE gets contract to build biggest wind farm in U.S. in Oregon

Location of Shepherds Flat, Oregon

 

General Electric has won a contract to build the biggest wind farm in the United States in Oregon.  The wind farm will be located in Shepherds Flat, Oregon and when completed will be the biggest wind farm in operation in the world.

The wind farm will cover 30 square miles and will produce 845 megawatts of power, enough to power 235,000 homes.  Shepherd Flats is located in Morrow County, in the Northeast portion of Oregon.  It is primarily agricultural land, covering an area of 2,047 square miles, but borders the Columbia River, a national scenic area. 

While this project has been in the planning stage for about 5 years now, there is still some controversy surrounding it.  The fact that it lies in a scenic area is of concern to the residents of Oregon, and across the river in Washington. 

The other controversy is that wind farms are notorious for the killing of thousands of migratory birds every year.  The wind farm in the Altamont Pass in California reportedly is responsible for the deaths of up to 10,000 endangered migratory birds annually.  These include birds such as golden eagles, red tailed hawks, and burrowing owls.  There is concern that with the continued push for more wind turbines nationwide, we may soon see an extinction of many breeds of raptors. 

Proposals have been made to make changes to the proposed lands that wind farms can occupy.  Environmentalists want to limit these lands to those not in migratory bird flight paths, but migratory birds do seem to utilize windy areas as part of their historic paths.  Other proposals are to build the towers higher, above the typical flight level for these birds. 

So far, all efforts to save birds have not only failed, but apparently have increased the numbers of fatalities.  Additionally, compliance with some of these safety measures is strictly voluntary.  While bird protective groups fight to save the birds, other environmental groups heartily endorse the alternative form of energy, so projects such as this one seem to be mired in controversy.

Interior Secretary, Ken Salazar, acknowledges that the administration is aware of the problem with bird deaths, and is working both with power companies and environmentalists on this problem.  Officials in the wind industry claim the problem is overstated, but acknowledge that birds are being killed, and will continue to be killed with the production of this type of energy. 

One type of solution that is being explored is the installation of radar to detect large groups of migratory birds and shut down the turbines when huge flocks are moving through the area.  "Technology has evolved over the last several decades in significant ways," Salazar said. "We know how to do wind farms in ways that minimize and mitigate the effect on birds."

Residents of Shepherds Flat are mostly supportive of this project.  The land that will be used is mostly ranch land, and those ranchers expect to continue grazing their livestock on the land after the project is completed.  The construction phase will provide approximately 400 jobs during construction, but will provide less than 50 permanent jobs after completion.

This project, while located in NE Oregon, ironically, will sell the power generated to Southern California Edison to power southern California homes. 

Regardless of the controversy, almost all permits are in place for this project.  Construction is scheduled to begin next year and will be completed in 2012.  40% of new power sources over the last two years have been from wind.  The long term goal is that wind will provide 20% of the nation's electricity requirements by the year 2030.  Hopefully by then, environmentalists will have found a way to protect wildlife that is being sacrificed to our growing energy needs.

Resources:  GE Wind Farm Turbines

Bird deaths present problems for wind farms