Puget Sound Energy wind farm’s visitor center reopening April 1
Tuesday, Mar 19, 2013
The Renewable Energy Center at Puget Sound Energy’s Wild Horse Wind and Solar Facility, about a two-hour drive east of Seattle, reopens April 1 for the 2013 tourist season.
Visitors to Wild Horse not only learn about renewable energy from the center’s informational displays, but also from guided hikes past operating wind turbines and one of Washington’s largest solar-power installations.
The visitor center is open seven days a week, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., through November (weather permitting). Free guided tours of PSE’s 273-megawatt renewable-power operation occur daily at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., with no reservation required. Free tours and presentations for private groups, including school classes and tour-bus groups, also can be scheduled.
Opened in 2008, the Renewable Energy Center expects to host its 100,000th visitor this spring. The milestone visitor will receive special prizes from PSE.
Perched at 3,500 feet on the shrub-steppe slopes of Whiskey Dick Mountain, about 16 miles east of Ellensburg, the center provides spectacular views of Mount Rainier, Mount Adams, Mount Hood and the Columbia River gorge.
Recreational activities such as hiking, horseback riding, hunting and bird watching are allowed at Wild Horse beyond the guided-tour trails near the Renewable Energy Center. However, public access in these outer areas of the wind farm requires a written permit. Access permits can be obtained at the visitor center or by registering online at PSE.com/WildHorse.
Source: Business Wire
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