Cannon Power Uses Stimulus to Expand Wind Project
The Department of Treasury has awarded a cash grant through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to Cannon Power Group to enable the further build-out of the Windy Point/Windy Flats project in rural Klickitat County, Wash.
The Windy Flats portion will produce more than 350-megawatts (MW) of the 500+ MW project. The expansion will add over 250 additional jobs and will provide more than $32 million in overall community and state benefits over the life of the project.
Windy Point/Windy Flats represents one of the largest wind farms in the nation, will produce enough clean electricity for over 250,000 households per year and will displace more than 800 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually. The $200 million cash grant will go toward the purchase of wind turbines and other project costs. The total investment of the project to date is more than $1 billion.
“We commend President Obama for making renewable energy development in this country a priority,” said Gary Hardke, Cannon Power Group’s president and managing director. “As an American-based company, we are up to the challenge.”
Power from Windy Flats is being purchased by the Southern California Public Power Authority, a California joint powers agency comprising of 11 municipal utilities and one irrigation district.