PacifiCorp on Thursday announced the purchase of the Leaning Juniper wind farm in the Columbia River Gorge. It is the first acquisition of its kind for the Portland-based multistate utility.

Power resource planners in the Northwest say several factors could buffet the region's wind farm boom. Rising construction costs, strained transmission lines and a limited ability to blend wind's fickle nature with more controllable generation, such as hydro-power, are among the biggest concerns. "Wind is a complex variable," said Jeff King, a senior analyst for the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, a regional organization created by Congress to balance power production and wildlife protection in the Columbia Basin. "It's only very roughly predictable."

After the rolling blackouts in California and shortages in the Northwest, utilities and other power producers brought 3,000 megawatts of new generating capacity on line. That was mostly from natural gas-fired plants, said Terry Morlan, director of power planning at the Northwest Power Planning and Conservation Council.

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Utility executives say it could be costly and unnecessary to meet Gov. Ted Kulongoski's call for them to get 25 percent of their electricity from wind, solar and geothermal sources.

The expansive project, known as the Shepherds Flat Wind Farm, calls for 300 turbines to cover 32,000 acres near Arlington in Gilliam and Morrow counties.

Both will be built on farmland in Sherman County east of the Cascade Range and south of the Columbia River. There is no firm timetable for completion of either project, but they need to be operational by Dec. 31, 2007, to receive a federal tax credit.

PORTLAND (AP) – PPM Energy, one of the largest developers of wind farms in the country, announced the construction of a 100-megawatt project near the Columbia River in Eastern Oregon.

PPM Energy, ScottishPower's competitive U.S. energy business, will begin construction this fall on the 75-megawatt (MW) Twin Buttes Wind Power Project in southeastern Colorado. And in Oregon, PPM just announced construction of the 100 MW Leaning Juniper Wind Project near Arlington, which is expected to be commercially operational later this year.

As a variable resource, it doesn't produce the nonstop electricity flow of coal-or gas-fired power plants.... But rising natural gas prices have made wind more attractive. Wind developers also benefit from federal subsidies such as a production tax credit.

The council will also review a recommendation by the Department of Energy to grant a site certificate for the Klondike III wind power project in Sherman County. The proposal calls for a peak generating capacity of 272 megawatts, which would mean erecting about 180 large windmill turbines, Stoops estimated.

Portland, Oregon [RenewableEnergyAccess.com] If the recent agreement between Portland General Electric (PGE) and Orion Energy, LLC for development rights to construct a wind farm capable of producing between 350 and 450 megawatts (MW) of energy at the proposed 25,000-acre Biglow Canyon Wind Farm in Sherman County, Oregon, is approved by the Oregon Public Utility Commission (OPUC), it could produce enough electricity to power 100,000 homes, potentially becoming one of the largest wind power projects in the nation.

The answer to higher energy prices is blowing in the wind for Portland General Electric Co.

SALEM -- Gov. Ted Kulongoski wants all the electricity used by state agencies to come from brand-new renewable sources such as wind and sun power -- and he wants that done in an ambitious four years.

A nine-member central steering committee is being formed to explore all of the available options. The county is seeking people who either have knowledge or expertise in wind, hydro or biomass production.

The streamlined rules establish new procedures for demonstrating wind energy facility compliance with existing noise control standards. These standards are used by the Oregon Energy Facility Siting Council to evaluate the location of new energy facilities.