Gov. Inslee tours First Wind, McCoy Loader, WSU Allen Center

Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee praised the entrepreneurial spirit of the Palouse Wind project Monday afternoon at a ceremony commemorating the generation of 150,000 megawatt hours of clean and renewable energy since the start of operation in December 2012.

First Wind was one of three stops that the governor made while in Eastern Washington on Monday.

The governor was joined by chairmen of First Wind, Avista, Vestas along with Alan Thomson, Whitman County Planning Director who also spoke.

Gov. Inslee ducked out of the First Wind ceremony on Baird early to attend a second ceremony at the McCoy Grain Terminal project which is located almost in the First Wind’s back yard, between Oakesdale and Rosalia ln Highway 271.

The loader terminal, expected to go on line in mid-August, is capable of loading 110-car trains that will ship out to the Burlington Northern Santa Fe mainline track at Marshall.

Inslee also toured Washington State University’s Paul G. Allen Center for Global Animal Health and the Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory Monday.

The Allen Center has laboratories and researchers that will diagnose and develop control for infectious diseases that affect people and animals worldwide.

“I salute the entrepreneurial spirit and give kudos to the success of the Palouse Wind project,” Inslee said.

“You ain’t seen nothin’ yet,” Inslee continued. “This is just the start of creating clean energy. This is Eastern Washington’s success story.”

“There is enormous potential to grow Washington’s clean energy economy and developments like the Palouse Wind project are helping us do just that,” Inslee said.

“This project is not only creating good jobs and economic opportunity here in Eastern Washington, but it’s also generating clean, emissions-free energy. As we work toward developing our clean and energy independent future, we’re glad to welcome projects like this one to our state,” he said.

Tyler Mundt, a 2013 graduate of Rosalia High School, was presented with a $3,000 scholarship from First Wind CEO Paul Gaynor during the ceremony. Kayler Dub of Farmington also received a $3,000 scholarship but was unable to attend. Both scholarships were matched by Vestas, the company which manufactured the wind turbines, as announced by Vestas president Chris Brown.

The turbine project features 58 turbines installed between Oakesdale and State Route 195 on the hills surrounding Naff Ridge. During construction, the Palouse Wind project pumped more than $25 million into the regional economy and created hundreds of construction jobs and increased revenue for local businesses.

Avista is purchasing the energy produced by the Palouse Wind project under a 30-year power purchase agreement and is taking delivery of the power through a transmission line. This is the first project built in Avista’s service territory, and it’s helping Avista achieve its goal of providing energy to its customers.

First Wind reported that it has made a major investment in Whitman County and the Inland Northwest. Whitman County will receive approximately $12 million over the next 20 years in property tax revenue, about $700,000 a year.