Puget Sound Energy wind farms post new one-day generating record

Friday, Feb 15, 2013

Nearly a quarter of the electricity Puget Sound Energy customers consumed on Tuesday came from the utility’s three wind farms, marking a new one-day production record for the PSE energy facilities.

“Wind is now a key resource for providing our customers with reliable, affordable electricity. And when combined with our hydro, natural gas and coal power plants, wind gives us flexible, cost-effective options for serving local homes and businesses.

Between midnight Monday and midnight Tuesday, the 1.1 million homes and businesses powered by PSE received 23.5 percent of their electricity from the utility’s three Eastern Washington wind farms.

“This milestone underscores the role wind power can play in meeting our energy needs,” said David Mills, PSE vice president of Energy Supply Operations. “Wind is now a key resource for providing our customers with reliable, affordable electricity. And when combined with our hydro, natural gas and coal power plants, wind gives us flexible, cost-effective options for serving local homes and businesses.”

Winds east of the Cascades allow PSE’s three wind farms to generate power approximately two-thirds of the time. On average, the facilities are supplying about 10 percent of all the power used by PSE’s electric customers.

PSE is the Pacific Northwest’s largest utility producer of wind energy. The company’s first wind farm, Hopkins Ridge, came online in late 2005 in Columbia County. The Wild Horse Wind and Solar Facility, in Kittitas County, entered service a year later. PSE completed Washington’s largest wind farm to date – the Lower Snake River Wind Facility, in Garfield County – nearly one year ago.

On Tuesday, the utility’s wind farms produced 16,593 megawatt-hours of electricity; that is almost 90 percent of the facilities’ one-day generating capacity. The new 24-hour record is enough electricity to fully power 503,000 homes for a full day.

Source: Business Wire