Cowlitz County Public Utility District Turns to Turbines
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For the Cowlitz County Public Utility District, the answer is indeed blowin’ in the wind. In November 2007, 89 giant wind turbines towering over grazing lands and wheat fields in the Columbia River Gorge started spinning and thus generating electricity for customers of Cowlitz PUD and three other public utilities.
Dubbed the White Creek Wind Project, the initiative is the largest public power wind-generation project in the United States. It’s expected to power an estimated 38,000 residences annually.
“There’s been great customer interest, and we’ve tried to do our best through our newsletter and speaking to our local organizations to keep our customers informed of our investment in the project,” says Cowlitz PUD spokesman Dave Andrew.
In 2006, voters statewide set standards for the use of non-hydro renewable energy sources. By 2012, at least 3 percent of a utility’s power must be from renewable sources and 15 percent by 2020. Andrew says the White Creek Wind Project is helping Cowlitz PUD meet that goal, and further wind generation may be in the offing.
“There is a second phase being discussed. There has been some testing done at an adjacent property for a smaller second project, and I think there’s a good possibility of that,” Andrew says.
Financing for the White Creek Wind Project is “a pretty interesting piece of this puzzle,” Andrew adds. “As public utilities, we cannot utilize the federal tax credits that the federal government makes available on renewable energy projects. In a very innovative financing plan, the four utilities sold the wind project to private investors in late 2006. They, in turn, did take advantage of the federal tax credits, and then we’re buying electricity from them for 20 years.”
The deal was the first of its kind and resulted in lower wholesale costs for the project. The utilities have the option to buy the project back in 10 years.
Such innovative solutions help keep Cowlitz PUD’s power costs among the lowest 5 percent in the nation. Its residential rate is 5.12 cents per kilowatt hour, while the national average is well above 10 cents.
Story by Sharon H. Fitzgerald
Photo by Todd Bennett
