October 7, 2008

Klondike III and IIIa wind turbines spin up

By SAM CRAIG
of The Chronicle

     With apologies to Harold Macmillan, the wind of change is blowing through Sherman County.
     Iberdrola Renewable’s Klondike wind farm, just outside of Wasco, opened its newest flock of wind turbines for business at a dedication ceremony Monday at the Klondike Operations Center. The ceremony featured speakers from the energy business, local landowners and politicians, including a slightly unexpected visit from Congressman Greg Walden.
     The Klondike Projects III and IIIa feature 131 new GE 1.5 megawatt turbines, 44 Siemens 2.3 megawatt turbines and one Mitsubishi 2.4 megawatt turbine. The 176 new turbines are expected to produce a total of 300.5 megawatts, or enough energy to power more than 80,000 homes. Combined with power produced by the other 66 existing wind turbines, Klondike has the ability to power more than 115,000 homes.
     In Sherman County, where the tallest structures were once the court house, high-voltage power lines and the grain silos that still dot the landscape, hundreds of three-bladed behemoths shoot from the ground, jutting thirty stories into the air. The wheat fields below them are darkened by shadows of the 125-foot-long blades turning silently 389 feet above. It’s a far cry from the old, creaky, windmills that used to pump water for farms, but for most people in Sherman County, the new wind turbines are something to celebrate.
     In a massive white tent next to Klondike’s operations center, the Sherman County High School Band kicked off the festivities with a brassy version of “Louie, Louie” and several other oldies hits. Officials mingled with the public while looking at a wind turbine blade the size of two schoolbuses that was on display in the parking lot.
     Visitors got to take a walk inside a full-size training nacelle to see the bits and pieces that make collecting wind energy possible.
     Rachel Shimshak, the director of the Renewable Northwest Project, welcomed the attendees and get the guest speakers up to the podium.
     Dr. Susan Wolff had quite a lot to say in praise of Iberdrola’s generocity. As chief academic officer at Columbia Gorge Community College, Wolff has been witness to the flourishing of the school’s Renewable Energy Technology program. Iberdrola gave a contribution of $50,000 a year for three years to the program, as well as offering the use of the training nacell and bringing guest lecturers to classes.
     “Iberdrola Renewables,” Wolff said, “When we were just beginning, they were a leader in the development of this curriculum. That helped us leverage the good work by a congressional delegation in Washington, D.C., where we received $1.67 million last spring from the Department of Labor to extend our program.”
Several students from the college currently work at the facility, assisting in daily business and performing maintenance on turbines.
     Don Furman, senior vice president for development, transmission and policy for Iberdrola, took the microphone next, discussing Klondike’s role as a test site for Mitsubishi’s first, massive 92-meter rotor, 2.4 megawatt wind turbine. He introduced the crowd to several members of the Mitsubishi Power Systems team and then turned to a more somber note.
     In late August last year, 35-year-old Chadd Mitchell went to perform a routine inspection on one of the wind turbines at Klondike. Unbeknownst to Michell, the switch that kept the blades from turning while the turbine was being worked on hadn’t been switched. The blades began spinning much faster than normal in the 25-mile-per-hour wind. One of the blades struck the side of the tower, bending it in the middle and sending it crashing to the ground. Mitchell was killed and another worker was injured.
     Iberdrola was fined for safety violations, and Furman vowed to work to make it never happen again.
     “The best way to honor Chadd’s memory,” Furman said, “Is to work hard to make sure that everybody who comes to the workplace in the morning goes home safely. I know that’s a difficult thing to talk about, but I think that we have to acknowledge Chadd in that way.”
     From Bonneville Power Administration, Elliot Mainzer, the company’s vice president of corporate strategy, spoke next, showing off just how much wind power had changed the face of energy in the Northwest.
     “I think we had about 25 megawatts of wind energy in the ground in 1998,” Mainzer said. “Here we are 10 years later, and just at Bonneville, we have 1,500 megawatts of wind operating on our system right now, and we’re expecting to double it next year. So that is an absolutely incredible accomplishment.”
     Next, Commissioner Ron Farmer from the Eugene Water & Electric Board discussed how the city’s $150 million bond measure, passed in 1992, has made Oregon’s energy production one of the country’s greenest.
     Farmer was followed by Chip Dale, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife regional manager, and landowner, John Hilderbrand before the ceremony was closed with a speech by Congressman Greg Walden.
     Walden warned of Congress’ hesitation to extend tax credits to producers of green energy. He told the audience about studies that said nationwide, 76,000 jobs in the wind energy field were at risk without an extension and 7,297 jobs in construction and installation in Oregon alone could be lost.
     “It’s time for Congress to get serious about renewable energy development,” Walden said, “And extend these credits for ten years.”
     Walden also offered that the battle for renewable energy wasn’t going to be fought in Washington, D.C., but that it would be fought at places like the Klondike wind farm.
     “Today we celebrate this wonderful accomplishment,” Walden said, speaking of the completion of the wind farm. “And all that this means for the landowners, the county and for the country. Tomorrow, let’s go to work wresting the companion issues that go with this new technology and energy so we can keep rural Oregon in the lead of America’s renewable energy future.”