Wind company looks to expand Stateline Wind Farm
FPL Energy would like to expand the Stateline Wind farm north of Helix to increase its energy generating capacity by about 100 megawatts.
To do this, the company is proposing two options: Adding 43 2.3 megawatt turbines to make a peak generating capacity of 98.9 megawatts, or building 67 1.4 megawatt turbines for a peak energy capacity of 100.5 megawatts.
These proposed projects would add to the 186 .66 megawatt turbines installed in the early 2000s.
But to make this addition, FPL Energy needs certification from the Oregon Facility Siting Council, which is asking for comments from the public. The council will continue to receive comments until Dec. 19.
Send comments by mail to John G. White, Oregon Department of Energy, 625 Marion St. NE, Salem, or by fax to (503) 373-7806 or by e-mail to john.white@state.or.us.
Copies of FPL Energy’s proposal are available at the Department of Energy in Salem and at libraries in Helix, Pendleton, Umatilla and Milton-Freewater. The proposal also is available at www.oregon.gov/ENERGY/SITING/announce.shtml under the link “stateline wind project — amendment.”
Specifically, ODE said FPL Energy Vansycle LLC and FPL Energy Stateline II, Inc. are making the request for this amendment. And it’s not the first time Stateline has been added on to.
The first part of Stateline included 126 0.66 megawatt turbines, which the citing council approved in 2001. In 2002, it approved the first amendment, an addition of 60 more 0.66 megawatt turbines.
The council approved a third permit in June 2003 to add 279 more 0.66 megawatt turbines, but the compant never built them. Since that time, the construction deadline on the project has expired.
That’s why FPL Energy is again looking to get a proposal approved to add to the project.
In addition to either option of the 100 megawatt addition (either 43 turbines or 67 turbines) FPL also would need to install other facilities like access roads, a substation and a transmission line to connect these new turbines to the grid.
17 November 2008
Tags: Wind power, Wind energy
Some possibly related stories:
The copyright of this article is owned by the author or publisher indicated. Its availability here constitutes a "fair use" as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law as well as in similar "fair dealing" exceptions of the copyright laws of other nations, as part of National Wind Watch's effort to advance understanding of the environmental, social, scientific, and economic issues of large-scale wind power development. For more information, click here.
