Shepherds Flat Wind Farm Explained

Shepherds Flat Wind Farm
Location:Near Arlington, Oregon
Ps Electrical Cap Fac:22.7% (average 2013-2017)
Ps Annual Generation:1,677 GW·h

The Shepherds Flat Wind Farm is an 845 megawatt (MW) wind farm in the eastern part of U.S. state of Oregon, near Arlington, in both Gilliam and Morrow counties. Groundbreaking occurred in 2009, and it officially opened in September 2012.

The wind farm was built by Caithness Energy using General Electric GE2.5XL 2.5 MW wind turbines, and it supplies electricity to Southern California Edison. The wind farm is estimated to have an economic impact of $16 million annually for Oregon. It is one of the largest land-based wind farms in the world.

Details

The wind farm is located in eastern Oregon in both Morrow and Gilliam counties, with the majority of the turbines in the latter.[1] Oregon provided tax incentives to the developer to help land the facility,[1] [2] but the project is expected to provide Gilliam County with about $5 million annually in taxes and fees when it is operating. Shepherds Flat is entirely on private property approximately southeast of the city of Arlington between Oregon Route 19 and Oregon Route 74. Construction on the project was expected to employ 400 people to build of power lines and of roads on the 30mi2 wind farm.[3]

Plans for the project first came in 2002 for a 105 megawatt project, with the plan changed to larger project in 2004.[4] The project was then submitted to the state in 2006 with plans to have the first phase online in 2008.[5] Early plans called for 303 turbines and a generating capacity of 909 megawatts.[6] At the time, it would have doubled the capacity for wind-generated power in Oregon.[7] The farm is divided into several sections, with the Willow Creek Wind Farm between two of the larger segments.[8]

Approved in 2008 by state regulators,[9] groundbreaking came in 2009. The project design now includes 338 GE2.5XL turbines built by GE Wind Energy, each with a capacity to produce 2.5 megawatts, and used for the first time in United States. These turbines and a ten-year service contract cost a total of $1.4 billion, the largest expense on the estimated $2 billion project. In December 2010, the Department of Energy (DOE) offered a $1.3 billion loan guarantee for the project. The insurance fee for the loan guarantee would be paid from federal stimulus money through the Financial Institution Partnership Program.[10] [11] Generating capacity will be 845 megawatts, producing an estimated 2 billion kWh each year, enough to provide electricity to 235,000 homes. Once operational, the facility will have about 35 permanent employees. The wind farm is estimated to have an economic benefit of $16 million annually for Oregon.[12] In April 2011, Google announced they had invested $100 million in the project,[13] part of a $500 million investment package announced by General Electric and including as investors, also, subsidiaries of Itochu Corp. and Sumitomo Corporation.[14] The facility was officially opened on September 22, 2012.[15]

Electricity production

Shepherds Flat Wind Farm Generation (MW·h)
Year North Hurlburt
265 MW Unit [16] 		South Hurlburt
290 MW Unit [17] 		Horseshoe Bend
290 MW Unit [18] 		Total Annual MW·h
2012485,355 214,587 -699,942
2013542,117 585,493 612,2751,739,885
2014580,941 601,495 652,3431,834,779
2015489,302 535,373 568,0721,592,747
2016550,227 585,383 612,3441,747,954
2017458,684 492,996 519,0511,470,731
Average Annual Production (years 2013–2017) 1,677,219

Concerns

Concerns have been raised by taxpayer watchdog groups, that ranch owners receive up to $12,000 annually per turbine leased on their land, while they have already received tens of millions of dollars in government subsidies. Some local ranchers due to benefit or already benefiting from the partially government subsidized wind energy projects received nearly $1 million in government subsidies in 2008 alone.[19] [20] [21]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Shepherds Flat farm lifts off . Mills. Erin . July 12, 2009 . . 11 December 2009.
  2. News: Tax dollars blow away in wind projects . Sickinger . Ted . November 28, 2009 . . 11 December 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20091201051820/http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2009/11/tax_dollars_blow_away_in_wind.html . 1 December 2009 . live .
  3. News: GE to supply world's largest wind farm . Yousuf . Hibah . December 10, 2009 . CNNMoney.com . 11 December 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20091213222847/http://money.cnn.com/2009/12/10/news/companies/GE_wind_farm/index.htm?cnn=yes . 13 December 2009 . live .
  4. News: Wind farms whip up health fears for Oregon residents near turbines . Holman . James . August 11, 2008 . The Oregonian . 11 December 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100805015205/http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2008/08/wind_farms_whip_up_health_fear.html . 5 August 2010 . live .
  5. News: California company plans wind farm in Oregon . Associated Press . July 19, 2006 . 11 December 2009 .
  6. Web site: Shepherd's Flat Wind Farm . August 5, 2008 . Wind Power . Renewable Energy Development . 11 December 2009 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20091128052145/http://renewableenergydev.com/red/wind-power-shepherds-flat-wind-farm/ . 28 November 2009 .
  7. News: Unanimous yes vote advances . Gunderson . Laura . July 26, 2008 . The Oregonian . 12 December 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080802095741/http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?%2Fbase%2Fbusiness%2F121703731921620.xml&coll=7 . 2 August 2008 . live .
  8. News: Oregon wind farms whip up noise, health concerns . Cockle . Richard . March 26, 2009 . The Oregonian . 12 December 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100111222301/http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/03/oregon_wind_farms_whip_up_nois.html . 11 January 2010 . live .
  9. News: Oregon wind farm could be world's largest . July 28, 2008 . . 11 December 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20091027113240/http://portland.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2008/07/28/daily1.html . 27 October 2009 . live .
  10. http://lpo.energy.gov/?p=1955 DOE LPO finalizes deal on the World’s largest Wind Project to date
  11. Web site: Feds offer loan guarantee for Ore. wind farm . Jeff . Barnard . October 9, 2010 . Associated Press . 2010-10-13.
  12. News: World's largest wind farm coming to Oregon . December 10, 2009 . Portland Business Journal . 12 December 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20091213221518/http://portland.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2009/12/07/daily36.html . 13 December 2009 . live .
  13. Web site: Official Google Blog: Shepherding the wind. Needham. Rick. 18 April 2011. Official Google Blog. 18 April 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110421071641/http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/shepherding-wind.html. 21 April 2011. live.
  14. Web site: Google, others invest $500 mln in GE wind farm. Witkowski. Wallace. 18 April 2011. MarketWatch. 19 April 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110424123744/http://www.marketwatch.com/story/google-others-invest-500-mln-in-ge-wind-farm-2011-04-18-1320310. 24 April 2011. live.
  15. News: Shepherds Flat wind farm opens Saturday in eastern Oregon. 26 September 2012. The Oregonian. September 21, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120924220902/http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2012/09/green_oregon_sheperd_hills_win.html#incart_hbx. 24 September 2012. live.
  16. Web site: North Hurlburt, Annual . Electricity Data Browser . . March 22, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180323211424/https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/browser/#/plant/57526/?freq=M&pin= . March 23, 2018 . live .
  17. Web site: South Hurlburt, Annual . Electricity Data Browser . . March 22, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180323211424/https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/browser/#/plant/57549/?freq=M&pin= . March 23, 2018 . live .
  18. Web site: Horseshoe Bend, Annual . Electricity Data Browser . . March 22, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180323211424/https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/browser/#/plant/57550/?freq=M&pin= . March 23, 2018 . live .
  19. News: Pentagon objections hold up Oregon wind farm . The Washington Post . Juliet . Eilperin . 16 April 2010 . 31 October 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170926101207/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/15/AR2010041503120.html . 26 September 2017 . live .
  20. Web site: FAA and Air Force Ground Wind Farm Development. 2011-11-16. https://web.archive.org/web/20110708191434/http://www.consumerenergyreport.com/2010/04/15/faa-and-air-force-ground-wind-farm-development/. 2011-07-08. dead.
  21. Web site: Priority Smackdown: Alternative Energy Vs. The Pentagon. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130706022404/http://trueslant.com/timzimmermann/2010/04/19/priority-smackdown-alternative-energy-vs-the-pentagon/. 2013-07-06.

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