PSE brings 22 new wind turbines online

Published 10:26 am Monday, November 23, 2009

Puget Sound Energy has added 22 additional wind turbines to its Wild Horse Wind and Solar Facility in Kittitas County. The new wind turbines are in addition to the facility’s original 127 turbines, which began operating in December 2006, and raise its capacity to produce renewable power from the wind. In addition, the Wild Horse solar array, already one of the largest in the Northwest, is also expanding with 315 made-in-Washington solar modules totaling 50 kilowatt (kW) of capacity being added to its present 450 kW of generating capability.

PSE, which is already the nation’s second-largest utility owner and operator of wind power, raised its capacity from 229 megawatts (MW) to 273 MW through the installation of 22 new turbines each with a capacity of 2 MW. The new installation can generate enough power to meet the energy needs of 70,000 homes.

The Wild Horse wind facility is located at an elevation of 3,500 feet on Whiskey Dick Mountain, a little more than 16 miles east of Ellensburg, on the north side of Interstate 90.

For more information, go to www.PSE.com.