 The
Vansycle Ridge Wind Farm is Oregon’s first commercial facility
to generate electricity usingwind. It is located near Pendleton and
began operation in November 1998.
Project Location
Vansycle Ridge is a crest of land above Vansycle Canyon, which funnels
wind from the Columbia River gorge up and over the Horse Heaven Hills
in eastern Oregon. The average wind speed at Vansycle Ridge is 16-18
mph, which is considered excellent for wind farm development.
The area around the project’s 38 wind turbines is used mostly
for farming. This can continue beneath the completed wind farm, so
land-use impacts are minimal; turbines and access roads occupy less
than two percent of the area spanned by the project. The site is also
close to preexisting transmission lines, which reduced the need to
install new cables and minimizes the amount of power lost during transmission.
Project Description
The Vansycle Ridge Wind Farm uses 38 state-of-the-art Vestas wind
turbines, which produce a maximum output of 24.9 megawatts (MW) of
electricity. On average the project is expected to receive enough
wind to deliver about 30 percent of its peak capacity year-round--enough
power for more than 5,000 average Northwest homes.
Electronic control systems point each turbine into the wind and adjust
the pitch of the blades to make the best use of wind at any speed.
The turbines can generate power at wind speeds of 7-56 mph. At higher
speeds the turbines automatically shut down--a feature which allows
them to withstand hurricane-force winds.
The $35 million wind farm was built by FPL Energy, Inc., a subsidiary
of the company that owns Florida Power & Light Co. It took eight
months to build, and was completed two months ahead of schedule.
Environmental Effects
The Vansycle wind project was planned carefully and underwent extensive
review to minimize its environmental impact. Early biological studies
indicated that the site receives little use by birds or other vulnerable
species, and the wind farm’s operators continue to monitor the
impact of the facility on avian and bat species. The project uses
tubular towers and buried cables instead of lattice bases and pole-mounted
cables, in order to avoid adding new perching places for birds. As
a clean power source, the project also eliminates some of the need
for fossil fuel electric plants in the region. If natural gas or coal
were used to generate the same amount of power, they would emit 30,000-80,000
tons of carbon dioxide per year, as well as air pollutants and acid
rain precursors. Wind power produces no air emissions.
Economic Profile
The Vansycle Ridge Wind Farm is owned by FPL Energy, Inc., a major
developer of renewable energy sources in the U.S. Wind power typically
costs slightly more than traditional coal and natural gas facilities,
but the gap is narrowing every year. The wind farm is operated under
a contract with Portland General Electric, which will buy 100 percent
of the power for the first 30 years of the project’s life. The
power from the Vansycle project is currently integrated into PGE’s
general resource portfolio.
Like other renewable energy projects, the Vansycle wind farm benefits
the local and national economy. It pays royalties to the farmers who
own the underlying land, without disturbing their farming practices,
and it pays taxes to local governments. It also increases local economic
activity by hiring people to build, operate and maintain the wind
farm and roads. The project’s turbines were built by Vestas-American
Wind Technology, a company based in North Palm Springs, California.
Read about the Stateline Wind Project in
Washington and Oregon, or the Wyoming Wind project at Foote
Creek Rim.
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