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Desert Claim Wind Power Will Ask EFSEC to Pre-Empt Kittitas County & Recommend Approval of Wind Farm to Power Nearly 60,000 Homes

Posted on: Thursday, 5 April 2007, 18:00 CDT

Desert Claim Wind Power will ask the state to recommend approval of its 180-megawatt wind farm in Kittitas County, the company announced today.

The company also released survey results that found 78 percent of Kittitas County voters support the development of wind farms within the county. The survey found that Desert Claim supporters outnumbered opponents by a two-to-one margin. The survey of 300 Kittitas County voters was done by Moore Information, a public-opinion research firm based in Portland, OR.

Desert Claim Wind Power will file a motion this month asking the state Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council to pre-empt the Kittitas County Board of Commissioners and recommend approval of the wind farm, said David Steeb, project director. In 2005 the commissioners turned down Desert Claim's application to site the wind farm eight miles northwest of Ellensburg. However, on March 27 EFSEC recommended approval of Horizon's Kittitas Valley Wind Power Project, a similar wind farm located several miles west of the Desert Claim site. EFSEC's recommendations require the approval of Gov. Christine Gregoire.

"Wind energy now clearly has the strong support of both the state and even most Kittitas County residents, and Desert Claim is one of the best wind-farm sites in the state," said Steeb. "We will ask EFSEC to recommend approval of Desert Claim as a regional resource that could supply power to 60,000 homes."

Desert Claim has a rare combination of qualities in a wind farm site, Steeb said. It has plentiful wind and is located on 4,783 acres of rural farmland. What makes it so unusually good, he said, is that it's within a power transmission corridor. Consequently, no new transmission lines would need to be built, saving $500,000 to $1 million per mile in construction costs.

Survey: Kittitas voters support wind farms

Despite opposition among some residents, the survey found the vast majority of Kittitas County voters recognize the wind farms' benefits. The survey found that 78 percent of county voters support the development of wind farms in the county. Only 9 percent of those surveyed opposed wind farm development. Another 13 percent had no opinion.

The proposed Desert Claim Wind Power project was supported by approximately a two-to-one margin among survey respondents who were aware of it. And, after hearing that Desert Claim would be located on rural land eight miles northwest of Ellensburg, more than six-in-ten of the 300 voters polled said they support the project.

The survey had a potential margin of error of plus or minus 6 percent at the 95 percent confidence level. Moore Information conducted the survey for enXco, developer of the Desert Claim wind farm and one of the nation's premier wind energy companies.

Support for Desert Claim

A total of 40 percent of all those surveyed said they were aware of the Desert Claim wind farm proposal.

Of those who were aware of Desert Claim, 53 percent said they supported the proposed wind farm. Only 28 percent were opposed to it. Another 20 percent had no opinion.

However, after being told only that Desert Claim would be located on rural land about eight miles northwest of Ellensburg, 61 percent among all voters said they supported the proposal, while only 21 percent were opposed and 17 percent had no opinion.

Economic, energy contributions attractive

After hearing other factual statements about Desert Claim, support for the wind farm rose to 70 percent of all those surveyed. Facts drawing the most favorable responses included:

$1.4 million in new tax revenues generated annually for local schools and county public services

The wind farm's location in a major power transmission corridor, eliminating the need to build new power lines.

Desert Claim's commitment to donate funds for a new fire station in the Reecer Creek Road area.

The wind farm's capacity to provide power to nearly 60,000 homes.

Its ability to serve the state's growing population, expected to increase by 2 million people in the next 25 years.

Lease income to support wind-farm area landowners' agricultural and cattle ranching operations.

New jobs and millions of dollars for the Kittitas County economy.

Support for Kittitas Valley wind farm

Of the survey participants who were aware of the proposed Kittitas Valley wind farm, 58 percent supported it. Only 23 percent were opposed. Another 17 percent had no opinion. A total of 60 percent of all those surveyed were aware of the Kittitas Valley wind farm, which is further along in the EFSEC process than Desert Claim.

The survey was conducted on Feb. 22-23. Steeb said enXco chose not to make the survey results public after EFSEC's March 27 recommendation to avoid any appearance of involvement in the Kittitas Valley process.

"The Kittitas Valley project deserved to be considered on its own merits, and we're pleased that EFSEC recognized how important wind farms and Kittitas County's wind resources will be in meeting the region's power needs," Steeb said.

Alternative energy most favorable

Of the 300 voters polled, a total of 235 said they supported wind farm development in the county. Only 27 said they opposed it.

The most frequently cited reason in favor of wind farm development within the county was support for alternative energy, by 53 percent of the supporters. Supporters also said that the county has plenty of wind, wind farms are a good idea, they're cost-effective, and the county is a good location for them.

The most common reason for opposition was wind farms' visual impact, cited by eight opponents. Several opponents said the county is a bad location, while several others cited property impacts.

About enXco

enXco, inc. (www.enxco.com) an EDF-EN Company (www.edf-energies-nouvelles.com), develops, constructs, operates and manages wind energy projects throughout the United States. Since 1987 enXco has grown to be a significant owner and developer of wind-energy projects. enXco is the largest O & M third-party provider for wind farms, with more than 3,600 turbines and more than 1,500 MW under contracts.

Source: Business Wire

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