A major project has just been launched on the Eastern plains of Oregon. Thirty miles of Gilliam and Morrow County are about to become home to 338 wind turbines – the biggest wind farm on the planet. The place is called Shepherds Flat, and major construction will begin in 2010 and wrap up in 2012. The turbines will provide 845 MW of electricity that will be exported to the urban region of Southern California.

This project, which has been spring-boarded by California’s goal to bring renewable electricity onto the grid, and Oregon’s goal to bring a green industry to the state, is a sign that the West Coast is ready to embrace a new energy independent economy.  We’re ready to kick our outdated and foreign fossil fuel habit, and evolve into a society dependent on renewable domestic energy sources.

This project will also use some innovative technology - new 2.5xl wind turbines engineered by GE will power the farm, at a price of $1.4 billion dollars. Caithness Energy, the company buying the turbines and investing in the project, is a company that made its name successfully investing and building geothermal, wind, and solar projects. They mentioned in a recent press release that they feel that the $2 billion dollar investment will quickly pay itself off.

Les Gelber of Caithness Energy says that a project of this caliber, “underscores our commitment to harness the power of wind to meet present and future energy needs.”

Jobs, Jobs, Jobs

On top of the renewable energy benefits, this project will generate green jobs in Oregon. Construction will employ at least 400 people, and operating the farm will require around 35 full-time employees. Shepherd’s Flat is in a remote region of the state, and 35 permanent jobs will be a small boom for the neighboring communities. This is the kind of development project that we can all feel great about.

There is certain to be some concern about the idea that this electricity is going to be exported from Oregon to California. As an Oregonian, I quickly found myself asking, “Why isn’t this green electricity going to come to my city?”

But wind generated electricity comes in bursts (you’ve probably heard that tidbit already). This means that on occasion, especially during those late-winter Eastern Oregon wind storms, the Shepherd’s Flat project could potentially send a pretty big boost of electricity onto the grid. We’ll need a large customer base and a large power grid to absorb that burst, and California has the demand that can meet that major feed.

Then I thought about exporting green electricity to California in general. It seems to me that having a renewable export like wind-generated electricity could potentially be a great thing for Oregon’s economy. We can send this electricity down to California, where the demand is high, get a great price for it, and we generate jobs in Oregon, we keep the tax-paying businesses in Oregon (Caithness), and we bring in clean money we can use on for more renewable energy projects. The Shepherd’s Flat Wind farm is truly a winning deal for everyone involved.