“Fewer but bigger turbines — the most powerful ever deployed in the Northwest — could reduce the footprint and improve the economics of an Oregon wind farm that Apple is counting on for vast amounts of clean energy,” Pete Danko reports for The Portland Business Journal.
“Project developer Avangrid Renewables is seeking a permit amendment for the Montague Wind Power Facility that would allow it to use a turbine model with a rotor diameter of 136 meters and generating capacity of 3.6 megawatts,” Danko reports. “That’s a big step up from the most powerful turbines spinning in the Northwest today, which can crank out 2.5 megawatts.”
“Avangrid has been tight-lipped about the power buyer for the 202-megawatt first phase of the project,” Danko reports. “However, in its annual sustainability report last month, Apple outed itself, calling Montague its ‘largest (renewable energy) project to date’ …If it does use the longer-blade turbines, Avangrid will stick with towers that have a hub height of 82 meters. At that height, the turbine blades will reach about 498 feet into the air at their highest point, just below a 500-foot level that would bring additional scrutiny from the Federal Aviation Administration.”
Read more in the full article here.
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