Press Releases
10/31/2019
Oregon Governor, Washington Lt. Gov. Join FPL Energy, PPM to Dedicate Largest Wind Farm in the West
Oregon Governor, Washington Lt. Gov. Join FPL Energy, PPM to Dedicate Largest Wind Farm in the West
WALLULA JUNCTION, Wash, /PRNewswire/ — Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber and Washington Lt. Governor Brad Owen are to meet at the Oregon- Washington border today to dedicate the largest wind farm in the West, a facility that straddles both states.
Developed, owned and operated by FPL Energy, the 263-megawatt Stateline Energy Center provides clean, renewable energy to PacificCorp Power Marketing (PPM), for its customers throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Gov. Kitzhaber and Lt. Gov. Owen joined FPL Energy President Ron Green, PPM CEO Terry Hudgens, Bonneville Power Administrator Steve Wright, Seattle City Councilmember Heidi Wills and more than 100 local and regional guests in a celebration of the Pacific Northwest's largest wind energy facility.
"The Stateline Wind Project is exciting, not only because we need the 263-megawatts of electricity - but also because it highlights the Northwest as a development center for clean energy. If we are to maintain our free markets and continue our economic growth, we must bring clean energy on line worldwide. The Stateline Wind Project exemplifies our commitment to achieving a sustainable world, and serves as an inspiration to the private and public sectors alike," said Gov. Kitzhaber.
"It's not often that we have such an outstanding example of government, private industry, and individual grass roots groups working together to accomplish a goad that everyone will benefit from," said Washington State Lt. Governor Owen.
The Stateline Energy Center was fully operational in December 2001, just nine months after construction of the facility began. But as with most large wind energy facilities, when sections of the facility were completed, electricity began flowing to PPM customers. The first power from Stateline reached consumers in July. The facility has the capacity to provide enough electricity to power about 60,000 homes and businesses.
"As the largest producer of wind energy in the nation, we are delighted that one of our bigger wind facilities is located in eastern Washington and Oregon to provide clean renewable energy to the region. We're grateful for the support we have received in the area for our company and for the Stateline Energy Center," said FPL Energy President Green.
"We've enjoyed great success marketing the output of Stateline to wholesale customers," said PPM CEO Hudgens. "We've overcome the challenges of delivering reliable, affordable wind power and created tailored renewable energy products. We believe renewable power holds great potential for meeting the future energy needs of the West," he added.
The Stateline Energy Center provides electricity for PPM customers including Bonneville Power Administration, and Seattle City Light, the Eugene Water and Electric Board and Avista Utilities.
"We are delighted to be the purchaser of about one-third of the Stateline project's capacity. We're looking forward to learning more about wind generated power and how best to blend it with our Northwest hydropower resources," said Steve Wright, administrator, Bonneville Power Administration (BPA).
"Seattle supported this project for all the right future reasons — protecting our climate, passing on a better world to our children, less pollution from energy production. But today's reasons are equally compelling - excellent technology, reasonable cost, diversifying our energy supply. This is a tremendous opportunity for Seattle and our entire region," said Seattle Councilwoman Wills.
FPL Energy is the nation's leader in wind energy generation, with 14 wind farms in Oregon, Washington, Iowa, Texas, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Kansas. This wind portfolio represents a net ownership of more than 1,400 megawatts. The company expects to build an additional 1,000 to 2,000 megawatts of wind energy projects by 2003. FPL Energy is a leading independent producer of clean energy from natural gas, wind, solar and hydroelectric. The company's portfolio includes 73 facilities in operation, under construction or in advanced stages of development in 17 states. New projects will bring total capacity to 10,000 megawatts by the end of 2003.
PPM is a non-utility power marketing subsidiary of ScottishPower and market leader in clean and green merchant energy. In addition to Stateline, PPM also markets the output of the Klamath Cogeneration Plant, a 484-megawatt natural gas-fired, advanced combined-cycle cogeneration facility in Klamath Falls, Ore. PacifiCorp, a regulated electric utility, a separate entity, is also a subsidiary of ScottishPower.
To learn more about the project, contact...
Art Sasse, Director, Communications & Brand, Iberdrola Renewables, 503-796-7740
Paul Copleman, Media Relations, Iberdrola Renewables, 207-641-2805
About Avangrid: Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE: AGR) aspires to be the leading sustainable energy company in the United States. Headquartered in Orange, CT with approximately $44 billion in assets and operations in 24 U.S. states, Avangrid has two primary lines of business: networks and renewables. Through its networks business, Avangrid owns and operates eight electric and natural gas utilities, serving more than 3.3 million customers in New York and New England. Through its renewables business, Avangrid owns and operates a portfolio of renewable energy generation facilities across the United States. Avangrid employs approximately 8,000 people and has been recognized by JUST Capital in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 as one of the JUST 100 companies – a ranking of America’s best corporate citizens. In 2024, Avangrid ranked first among utilities and 12 overall. The company supports the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals and was named among the World’s Most Ethical Companies in 2024 for the sixth consecutive year by the Ethisphere Institute. Avangrid is a member of the group of companies controlled by Iberdrola, S.A. For more information, visit www.avangrid.com.
About Iberdrola: Iberdrola is one of the world's biggest energy companies and a leader in renewables, spearheading the energy transition to a low carbon economy. The group supplies energy to almost 100 million people in dozens of countries. With a focus on renewable energy, smart networks and smart solutions for customers, Iberdrola’s main markets include Europe (Spain, the United Kingdom, Portugal, France, Germany, Italy and Greece), the United States, Brazil, Mexico and Australia. The company is also present in growth markets such as Japan, Taiwan, Ireland, Sweden and Poland, among others.
With a workforce of nearly 40,000 and assets in excess of €141.7 billion, across the world, Iberdrola helps to support 400,000 jobs across its supply chain, with annual procurement of €12.2 billion. A benchmark in the fight against climate change, Iberdrola has invested more than €130 billion over the past two decades to help build a sustainable energy model, based on sound environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles.