Biglow Canyon Wind Farm - Certification

Certification

The facility is authorized to install up to 225 wind turbines totaling 450 MW and averaging 150 MW distributed over 25,000 acres (10,000 ha). Each turbine's supporting tower must be 265–280 feet (81–85 m) tall; combined with windmill blades, each unit may be 400–445 feet (120–136 m) in height. The turbines may be aligned in up to 30 corridors 500 feet (150 m) wide on private farmland leased from the appropriate landowners. The initial construction—termed phase I—provides a completed capacity of 125 MW or enough to power 34,000 homes. Phase I cost some $250 million. Energy Trust of Oregon, Inc. contributed $6 million.

Turbine output is around 600 VAC and is converted to 34.5 kV by a transformer at the base of each tower. The output is gathered by a substation which combines the individual turbine contributions. Most collector cabling and associated control and monitoring fiber optic cable (up to 99 miles) is buried 3 feet (0.91 m) underground. Exceptions are made for aerial cables to span terrain such as canyons, wetlands, and cultivated areas to protect the environment. Up to 15 miles (24 km) of aerial cabling is permitted. Bonneville Power Administration built a 12 mile 230 kV transmission line to collect the power. It has capacity for an expected additional 450 MW from two other proposed wind farms in Sherman County.

The substation may be up to 6 acres (2.4 ha) including transformers, switching equipment, maintenance shops, control room, and offices. As many as ten meteorological observation towers up to 279 ft (85 m) are allowed throughout the wind farm to collect wind resource data. Construction must be completed by June 30, 2011.

Visual impact restrictions are in force for the John Day Wildlife Refuge, John Day Wild and Scenic River, and the John Day State Scenic Waterway (from Parish Creek to Tumwater Falls). Wildlife protection must be provided for nesting bald eagles, peregrine falcons, Swainson's hawk, golden eagle, Burrowing owl, Ferruginous hawk and minimization of harm to other wildlife. Noise levels during construction and operation of the facility must not contribute more than 50 dBA at 24 identified noise sensitive sites.