Klickitat County
Community Wind Project
Will Be First in Washington
State
Last Mile Electrical
Cooperative and Northwest SEED Receive Funding as Part
of USDA’s $22.8 Million
Grant Program from the Farm Bill
Olympia, Washington – Washington’s
first community-owned wind project will be coming
to Klickitat County. As a result of US Department
of Agriculture funding announced yesterday, Washington
based Last Mile Electric Cooperative and Klickitat
County Public Utility District, along with partner
Northwest Sustainable Energy for Economic Development
(SEED) will begin developing a 300 kW community-owned
wind project at Luna Point near Goldendale, the
first of its kind in the state.
"Community-owned wind
projects are new to this region,” said
Robin Rego, President, Last Mile Electric Cooperative. “We
are excited by this opportunity to collaborate
and to demonstrate how communities can benefit
from a Northwest renewable energy resource that
is locally owned and generated.”
USDA Secretary Ann M. Veneman announced
this month the selection of 167 recipients from
26 states to receive $22.8 million in competitive
grants. Funds set aside in the 2002 Farm Bill will
used by rural small businesses, farmers and ranchers
to develop renewable energy systems and promote
energy efficiency improvements. The $307,000 Last
Mile Electric Cooperative award was the only renewable
energy system applicant selected in the state of
Washington.
Profits from the sale of power will
benefit Operation Warm Heart, a low-income energy
assistance program. “Klickitat County PUD
has a well-deserved reputation as as a pioneer
of innovative energy concepts in the Northwest,” said
Don André, Executive Director of Northwest
SEED. “This far-reaching project will provide
benefits across the entire community.”
This project will not only produce “clean
energy”, it will also be a model for recycling
and re-powering former energy sites. Luna Point
was previously developed by Bonneville Power Administration
and the Department of Energy for a wind demonstration
project.
The Luna Point Community Wind Project is a partnership among Klickitat PUD,
Northwest SEED, Last Mile Electric Cooperative, A World Institute for Sustainable
Humanity (AWISH), Klickitat-Skamania Development Council, and Our Wind Cooperative,
a new cooperative formed to develop small-scale wind projects in the Pacific
Northwest.
“There were strong applications
throughout the region, this project’s focus
is to bring revenue and renewable energy to the
farmers, ranchers, and rural small businesses
in the local community, a key component of this
grant award,” concluded Chris Cassidy,
Program Director for Washington’s USDA
Rural Business and Cooperative Services.
Northwest Sustainable Energy for
Economic Development (NWSEED) works to mobilize
consumers and maximize the benefits of “home-grown” renewable
resources. For more on Northwest SEED and the 9006
Funding, visit www.nwseed.org
