Six Small Northwest Utilities and the Non-Profit Cooperate To Develop Consumer-Owned Wind Power

September 10, 2003 (Olympia, WA) — The Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF), a Pacific Northwest non-profit that sells green power and reinvests its earnings in new renewable energy projects, has joined with fellow members of the Last Mile Electric Cooperative to secure the development rights to some 20,000 acres of high quality wind resource land on the north bank of the Columbia River near Roosevelt, WA.

"This is our largest commitment to new renewable energy in the five years we've been operating," said former Senator Mark Hatfield, BEF Board Chairman. "It redeems our pledge to the many supporters of the Foundation that we would use our funds to leverage a new, sustainable future for the Pacific Northwest."

"In 2002, BEF co-sponsored the region's largest solar facility at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington," recalled Ralph Cavanagh, BEF Vice-Chairman and Energy Project Director for the Natural Resources Defense Council, a national environmental organization. "BEF and its different partners have given the region its first application of solar "shingles" roofing materials, and it's first "integrated-design" solar - solar cells that blend into the architecture of a new building. This wind project is another creative BEF idea: a "shopping mall" wind project that allows small utilities an equity stake in the region's most promising new renewable technology."

Angus Duncan, President of BEF since its founding in 1998, noted that: "BEF makes a promise to every buyer of its Green Tags and of BPA's Environmentally Preferred (green) Power; that we will reinvest our net revenues in growing the amount of renewable energy available to meet their future energy needs. This new project shows that we are fulfilling that promise in small ways and large."

BEF operates a non-profit business that sells "Green Tags," a form of green power, to utilities, businesses and residential customers across the United States and in Canada. BEF's Green Tags carry national and environmental certifications and endorsements.

Duncan said that still more value is added when BEF can team with others for its projects.

"We've organized a solar tag cooperative to help individuals with the cost of their small systems," he went on. "We've joined with the people of Ashland, OR, the San Juan Islands in Washington, Chelan Public Utility District in Wenatchee, the Kootenai Tribe of northern Idaho, and ranchers in Montana's Big Hole Valley to develop solar energy adapted to their very different needs. We're working with two other organizations to install small wind turbines on farms throughout the region. And now we've teamed with six small Northwest utilities to develop wind energy for their future. Partnering with others is a BEF core strategy. "

The wind farm site is located in Washington's Klickitat County near the town of Roosevelt, high on the north bank of the Columbia River. It has the potential to host up to 200 megawatts of large wind turbines, in the process adding local jobs and tax revenues to the rural eastern Washington county. One of the participating utilities, Klickitat PUD, is expected to provide interconnection and transmission services. Two years of recorded wind data document the site's excellent wind resource. Ahead are permitting, financing and construction tasks. BEF said the participants hope to place the project in service within the next two years.

About BEF
The Bonneville Environmental Foundation, a non-profit organization, was established in 1998 to further the development and use of new renewable energy resources. Through revenues generated from the sales of green power products, BEF funds projects that restore damaged watersheds and support new renewable energy projects from solar, wind and biomass. BEF pioneered the sale of Green Tags in 1999 and has helped establish national standards for certification and trading. Created by regional environmental groups and the Bonneville Power Administration, the Foundation operates collaboratively with but independent of both. Visit online at www.B-E-F.org.

Back to Top

Back to Press Releases