Open house for contractors slated at First Wind offices

Garth Meyer, Gazette Reporter | Jan 12, 20120

Palouse Wind, developer of the wind turbine farm in north Whitman County, will host an open house for contractors Jan. 17 and 18 at their office in Oakesdale. The two sessions are sponsored by the Southeast Washington Economic Development Association.

Representatives from First Wind and R.M.T., the engineering and procurement contractor for the Palouse Wind project, will be present to talk with contractors.

Present from First Wind will be Ben Fairbanks, West Coast manager, and Ryland Moore, director of Business Development. R.M.T. will have David White, project manager, and Julie Wood, bid administrator.

The representatives will highlight their construction provider needs, bid requirements and the bidding timelines for various aspects of the Palouse Wind job.

The open house will be informal. All are welcome to stop by when they are able.

“Anybody that walks in, there will be people to talk to and things to do,” said Dick Watters, managing director for SEWEDA.

Some site work on the project has already been done by sub-contractors.

“If a local outfit thinks they have something they can do for the project, we want them to show up,” said Watters. “We want to keep as many of these jobs in Whitman County as possible.”