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PSE Helps Generate Energy in Dayton
Prescott Elementary students tour Hopkins Ridge
(Photo courtesy of PSE)
One by one, with hard hats and safety glasses firmly in place, a group of Prescott Elementary School students ascends the steps leading to the base of a wind turbine tower at the Hopkins Ridge Wind Facility northeast of Dayton. Anne Walsh, who is an environmental/communications manager in Dayton for the project's owner, Puget Sound Energy (PSE), describes the equipment inside the tower base and shows the students the ladder that maintenance workers must climb in order to work on the generator and other turbine equipment at the top of the tower.
When she asks for Questions, Walsh gets some excellent ones from the students. "They ask things like how tall the tower is and how many there are," she says. "And sometimes they ask what the big red button is for." (Everyone must be prepared for emergencies, she tells them.)
Anne Walsh, with map of proposed new wind projectBack in her office on Dayton's Main Street, Walsh turns her attention to the environmental impact statement that's being conducted for the new Lower Snake River Wind Project in Garfield and Columbia Counties, which will be owned and operated by PSE. When completed, the new project is envisioned to more than triple the current generating capacity of the existing wind projects in Columbia County. The draft EIS has been released for public comment (see article on page 14).
Walsh wears many hats for PSE, including tour guide, interacting with community members, supervising office staff, overseeing local environmental and regulatory compliance for Hopkins Ridge and supporting PSE's legal and environmental team that's working on the permitting process for the new wind project. "I think that giving tours is my favorite part of my job," says Walsh, "Especially to kids."
PSE opened its office in Dayton in 2005, and Walsh was hired then to manage it. She was previously a community relations manager for FPL Energy at the Stateline Wind Project near Touchet. Walsh is a native of Tucson, Arizona, and holds a Geology and Resource Management degree from Northern Arizona University. She lives in Waitsburg with her husband and two sons.
The Hopkins Ridge project became operational in November, 2005, and PSE now has eight full-time employees in Columbia and Garfield Counties. Longtime Dayton farmer Jay Takemura was hired in 2008 as an environmental/communications coordinator, and is now managing PSE's new office in Pomeroy.
In its nearly four years of operations, the Hopkins Ridge wind farm has produced nearly 1.5 million megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity, and is now producing at a rate of over 400,000 MWh per year. The facility has 87 turbines, with a combined maximum generating capacity of about 156 MW. Together with the two Marengo wind projects, which are owned by PacifiCorp Energy, the total maximum generating capacity of wind turbines currently operating in Columbia County is approximately 366 MW. This compares to a maximum generating capacity of 810 MW for Little Goose Dam.
The three existing wind projects in Columbia County have created nearly 50 full time jobs here. This includes a large number of maintenance workers employed by Vestas Americas, which holds a contract to maintain turbines at all three projects. In 2009, according to the Columbia County Assessor's office, the three wind projects will generate nearly $2 million in property tax revenue for Columbia County. They will account for just over one-third of the total property taxes paid in the county this year.
Since opening their Dayton office, PSE has become an important part of the local community. Walsh sits on the Dayton Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and has been very active in local economic development activities. PSE has been the annual sponsor of the fireworks show during All Wheels Weekend and has provided sponsorships for many other community events, including being a major sponsor of the Dayton On Tour Art Walk, held in October.
Walsh has also worked with local community organizations to help them receive financial support from PSE's foundation. "Columbia County's non-profit organizations now have a great new source of funding," she says. The Puget Sound Energy Foundation, which provides grants to organizations that are located in the areas where PSE provides service and generates electricity, has recently contributed to the Columbia County Senior Center Meals on Wheels program and the Columbia County Veterans Memorial.
PSE has established a well-received program for hunting on the privately-owned (and some state-owned) land that encompasses the Hopkins Ridge facility. This year, the program has been expanded to include PacifiCorp Energy's Marengo Wind projects (see article on page 14).
PSE has held hundreds of public tours since the Hopkins Ridge Wind Facility began operating, many of which have been led by Anne Walsh. "The tours are a great way for people to see first-hand how wind energy works," she says. "And for many of these guests it is the first time they have explored Dayton and discovered what a great town it is."