Group Dedicates Opening of 200 MW Big Horn Wind Farm

PPM Energy's Big Horn Wind Power, which uses 133 GE Energy 1.5 MW wind turbines, is located in Klickitat County, Washington, approximately 25 miles from PPM Energy’s existing Klondike Wind Power Projects. While the electricity from Big Horn is sold to M-S-R Public Power Agency, 98 percent of the land it is on remains available for traditional uses (hunting and farming).

“The Big Horn agreement means that 35 percent of our energy portfolio is now from renewable sources,” said Allen Short, president of M-S-R. “This is an important goal for us to reach, and we’re leading the charge for other public power agencies to incorporate more renewable power.”

“Big Horn and our other successful wind projects in the Northwest prove PPM Energy’s commitment to developing renewable energy sources in ways that benefit our customers, local communities and the environment,” said Ty Daul, PPM Energy’s vice president for renewable business development. “This project is a model for responsible development, working closely with the community and on conservation of wildlife habitat.”

Big Horn also marks a major investment by the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) in integrating wind power into the regional transmission grid. “BPA plans to integrate generation from five more wind projects before the end of 2007. We’re working hand-in-hand with wind energy developers to make this happen,” said Brian Silverstein, transmission vice president for planning and asset management.