GOLDENDALE, Wash. - The Maryhill Museum of Art has defied convention since it opened, with its utopian origin, eclectic collection and even its location making the green-lawned mansion an incongruous landmark on a desolate ridge above the Columbia River.

Now the nonprofit museum's individuality extends into the realm of renewable energy. It is the first in the country to use wind-produced electricity to generate income, leasing land to one of the biggest wind farms in the country.

At a time when museums around the country are struggling with a downturn in donations and declining attendance, Maryhill has guaranteed itself at least $100,000 yearly by leasing land for 15 turbines that are part of Cannon Power Group's Windy Point/Windy Flats project.

"It will keep the museum open and thriving," executive director Colleen Schafroth said. "It will lay a foundation stone for the museum to continue what it's doing now and to preserve that into the future."

Many museums produce income by leasing their property, often office space in urban settings.

But Maryhill holds 5,300 acres of rugged land on a long, narrow shelf above the river.

The land was bought in pieces in the early 1900s by Sam Hill, the entrepreneur who tried to start a utopian Quaker settlement. His fellow Quakers weren't interested; the land had been stripped of much of its topsoil during the ancient Missoula Floods, and there were easier places for farmers to make a living.

Hill died in 1931, and the Maryhill Museum inherited his lands. The museum earns roughly $90,000 of its $1 million annual budget by leasing its property for grazing, hay and wheat crops, fruit orchards and vineyards. The lease income depends on crop production, and the museum pays about $20,000 yearly for upkeep of the property, including new fences, dousing brush fires and providing water for cattle.

Klickitat County officials saw the possibilities for wind power in the 1970s, and they tested the riverfront ridges to gauge wind patterns and consistency.

Wind power companies approached the museum about its land in the early 1990s, Schafroth said. They signed leases, but nothing came of the projects until the federal government began offering incentives for renewable energy.

Schafroth said she sensed a difference when Cannon Power Group signed a 40-year lease four years ago.

This time, talk turned into action.

The company surveyed the land and ended up protecting 32 raptor nests and more than 200 cultural sites from ancient Native American camps to European homesteads. Then truck after truck hauled in the massive towers and blades.

"It started happening, and we were kind of shocked," Schafroth said. "This was a commitment to put wind turbines in within two years."

The San Diego-based company leased 26 contiguous miles from different property owners on the shelf above the river for its project, which will be one of the nation's largest wind farms when its 150 turbines are on line next year. The project will produce 400 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 250,000 households yearly.

Electricity from the turbines will be channeled to the Bonneville Power Administration's Rock Creek substation. Cannon Power Group plans to sell some of its power to California.

The project has provided about 150 jobs, said Kurt Humphrey, Northwest area manager for Cannon Power Group, and will employ maintenance and technical staff when the farm is running.

The 15 turbines on museum land will generate about 35 megawatts of electricity.

In accordance with the lease agreement, the 15 turbines are not visible from the museum. But several turbines that are on other landowners' property loom over the museum.

Rising 420 feet above the harsh rocky landscape, the turbines face the prevailing winds-the same steady current that sends windsurfers hurtling along the Columbia River below. The bright white towers rise just past the eastern end of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, across from the wind farms of Oregon's Sherman County.

Like the land it leases for cash crops, the museum's wind income will be based on the wind farm's production. The least it will earn is $100,000 yearly. Humphrey predicted the amount would be much higher.

Finances are always an issue, said Jim Foster, an attorney in The Dalles, Ore., and president of the museum's board of trustees. "With this contributing to operating funds and pretty substantially, in terms of our annual budget, it's a no-brainer," he said.

The income will help the museum's modest $2 million endowment grow to a goal of $4 million or more, Schafroth said. The jampacked museum received $1.5 million from the state to expand, and leaders will begin seeking matching funds this fall.

"It's a hard time to be raising money," she said. "This just gives us a breather as we raise funds for the endowment. I think it benefits museum-goers in many ways. First of all, it ensures the museum is here for the next 20 years."

Income from the turbines also will help the museum conserve slopes of native plants including lupine, arrowroot, phlox and wild onion and build hiking trails near Maryhill Loops Road, as well as provide performances and educational programs for the public.

And capturing energy from the wind upholds the visionary legacy of Sam Hill, Schafroth said.

"I would have to say, he would have loved these turbines," she said.