World’s Largest Onshore Wind Farm (909 Megawatts) to be Built in Oregon
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 07.30.08
Recently, when I was lamenting all the ‘world’s biggest, best, baddest, shiniest’ PR in the renewable energy world, this next project is exactly the type of facility I was not talking about.
Shepherd's Flat Wind Farm Approved
The Portland Business Journal brings us the news that Oregon has given permitting approval to what will become the world’s largest onshore wind farm: the Shepherd’s Flat Wind Farm. Developed by the Sacramento, California firm Caithness Shepherds Flat LLC, the planned facility will consist of 303 wind turbines with a combined installed capacity of 909 megawatts. It will be located on private land five miles southeast of Arlington. No word on when construction is scheduled to begin or when the wind farm may come online.
While individually still a drop in the vast bucket of overall U.S. electrical demand, this development is of such a scale—the Shepherd’s Flat Wind Farm would slightly more than double Oregon’s wind capacity—that the phrase ‘world’s largest’ doesn’t seem ridiculous.
The current U.S. record holder for largest single wind farm is the 765 MW Horse Hollow wind farm, in Texas. Both of these, as well as every other wind farm in the world, are likely to be dwarfed by T. Boone Pickens’ planned 4,000 MW wind farm, scheduled to be completed by 2014.
via :: Portland Business Journal
Photo by Emma via flickr.
Wind Power
T. Boone Pickens Gets Into The Texas Wind: 4,000 Megawatts Worth
Wind Power Produces 123% of Residential Energy Demand in Rock Port, Missouri
Queen of England Buys World’s Biggest Wind Turbine (7.5 Megawatts!)
I feel like it's time to have some friendly "my wind farm is bigger than your wind farm" competition. And since I live in Texas I'll add "by 2014, baby!" to the end :-D
Surely this is the type of thing that shouldn't be labelled the worlds biggest. As you mention Pickens has already plans for larger wind farms.
Also something like Kitegen, we should here more about that, could produce more power from one powerplant. And do it cheaper
What about T Boone Pickens' 4 GW wind plant in the Texas Panhandle?
Great to see :). With China really ramping up wind power and expected to have the world's largest capacity sometime next year, competition is heating up to the biggest, best and first in various aspects of wind power. Nothing like a bit of rivalry to speed up adoption :)
This is the kind of project that can make superlative claims. Now announcements of another two hundred or so projects of this size and I'd feel a lot better about the progress we're making.
I actually live in Arlington and the windmills are amazingly beautiful.. they have a futuristic look about them that is breath taking. Not only are they soft on the eyes they do some ahhmazing work. =] I'm glad I got to grow up around them. It excapes me what year they started the project though... does anyone know?