Oregon has made a significant progress in the alternative energy field. Portland General Electric (PGE) has recently announced that the 450-MW Biglow Canyon wind farm in northern Oregon has been officially opened.
Biglow Canyon has 217 turbines that make it become PGE’s largest renewable project, being expected to generate about 150 MW, enough to provide clean energy for about 125,000 average PGE residential customers.
Portland General Electric is the owner of this plant and is aiming to meet Oregon’s renewable energy mandate of 15 percent by 2015 and 25 percent by 2025.
“We are pleased to have completed construction of this significant project that not only reflects the values of our customers, but also helps PGE meet Oregon’s Renewable Energy Standard, which requires us to supply 15 percent of the electricity our customers use from renewable resources by 2015 and 25 percent by 2025,” said Jim Piro, PGE president and CEO.
The $1 billion wind farm is located on 25,000 acres near Wasco in Sherman County and was built in three phases over the past two and a half years. Soon, another wind farm will be opened in Oregon, much larger than Biglow Canyon. The new farm is expected to be completed until 2012 and will have a capacity of 845 MW.
[Source: Ecogeek/MarketWatch]
