Blades now on 37 towers: Turbine project advances to Steam Shovel Hill

High winds Tuesday afternoon provided Avista with 30 megawatts of electricity off the Palouse Wind farm on Naff Ridge.

Ben Fairbanks, western region business development manager for Palouse Wind’s parent company First Wind, said 20 turbines were operating Tuesday and generating electricity.

“Everything seems to be going pretty good,” said Fairbanks.

That electricity is test power, and is sold separate from the long-term contract Palouse Wind has signed with Avista.

In all, the wind farm has 37 towers built with blades installed on the Naff Ridge portion of the wind farm.

The project’s massive crane was being moved Tuesday to install blades on the remaining 21 towers in the southern portion of the wind farm, around Steam Shovel Hill. Fairbanks expects blades will continue to arrive for installation at the site for up to three more weeks.

Power from the wind farm is transmitted to Avista’s high-tension cables which run north and south about six miles west of the wind farm, which is located east of Highway 195 north of Oakesdale and south of Rosalia.

Whitman County Public Works Director Mark Storey reported Monday that county crews had repaired roads that were damaged by construction.

Shipments of overweight equipment to the wind farm have been completed. Storey said the remaining blade shipments, while lengthy, do not weigh enough to cause serious damage to the roads.

First Wind will repay the county’s expenses for road repairs. Storey estimated costs could run upwards of $80,000, though he noted costs had not yet been fully determined.

Planner Alan Thomson said the technical advisory committee that will monitor wildlife impacts from the wind farm is in the process of being formed and should have its first meeting early next month.

When the wind farm is fully operational, the committee will monitor how wildlife are impacted, primarily the flight paths of birds and bats. Modifications to the wind farm can be prescribed by the committee as needed.

The committee will consist of representatives from the county, Palouse Wind, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the United States Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Palouse Audobon Society, Avista and a nearby landowner. Fairbanks said the landowner will likely be chosen from among those who lease ground to Palouse Wind.