The permanent footprint of new turbines, roads, and support facilities will be approximately 2-3 percent of the total site area. PSE purchased the undeveloped land in February 2008.

At maximum output, the Wild Horse facility currently generates up to 229 megawatts (MW) of electricity-enough power to serve approximately 60,000 households. The expansion project will boost Wild Horse generating capacity by a projected 40 to 50 MW. The proposed expansion remains within the maximum number of turbines (158) and power output (312 MW) authorized by Wild Horse's original development permits.

"The Wild Horse site has proven itself to be an excellent location for producing clean, renewable energy, and it makes sense to build on that success," said Kimberly Harris, executive vice president and chief resource officer for PSE. "This expansion is a logical step for the local community and the environment."

Harris said PSE will ask the state Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council to amend the utility's current Wild Horse site certification agreement to accommodate the expansion project. PSE will also be pursuing an amendment to its existing Wild Horse development agreement with Kittitas County.

PSE will seek public input before filing permit applications for the expansion. An open house is scheduled for 4:30 to 7 p.m., April 30, Manastash Room, Kittitas Valley Events Center, so that the community can learn more about the proposed expansion.

PSE anticipates that once the necessary approvals are received, construction will begin in 2009 with the new Wild Horse turbines producing electricity by 2010. As with the initial construction at Wild Horse, PSE will work to minimize development impacts on the environment, including wildlife and the area's distinctive shrub-steppe habitat of cactus and sagebrush. PSE and the Wild Horse project played a key role in the preservation of approximately 17,000 acres of shrub-steppe habitat surrounding the project.

In addition to the wind turbines, the Wild Horse site also includes a 500-kilowatt solar project, the Pacific Northwest's largest solar energy producer, and the recently opened Renewable Energy Center, where the public can learn more about wind and solar power as well as the natural history of the Kittitas Valley.

Wild Horse, together with PSE's Hopkins Ridge Wind Facility near Dayton in southeast Washington, produces enough electricity, on average, to serve approximately 100,000 households.

Kittitas County has prospered from the wind farm since its completion in late 2006. The facility created more than 20 permanent jobs, generates more than $1.3 million in new tax dollars annually for local schools and county services, and spurred additional investment in local businesses and infrastructure.

PSE expects the expansion project to increase those long-term benefits by about 15 percent. In addition, construction of the new turbines and support infrastructure will create a large number of temporary jobs; the project labor force peaked at about 250 during Wild Horse's 2006 construction.

Related Links
Puget Sound Energy
Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com

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