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Time to Ride the Wind by Editors Seattle Times, February 25, 2001

Wind energy has long been the great Green hope. One consequence of this winter's power crisis is that it is being taken seriously in the Pacific Northwest for the first time.

The Stateline Wind Farm, under construction this year near Walla Walla by an affiliate of Florida Power & Light, will have 450 windmills generating 300 megawatts of electricity. By power-plant standards, it's only middling: the proposed natural gas plant at Sumas would produce more than twice as much power. But 300 megawatts is still substantial, and it can be brought on line in less than a year.

What made wind energy practical is the modern windmill. Mounted on a high, slender tower, it has three thin blades, pitch-controlled by computer. At a broad range of wind it generates a steady current. As windmills have improved, the cost per megawatt-hour has fallen. In 1991, the raw generating cost was about $100. It is now down to $35 to $40. A federal tax credit lops off another $5. To make it reliable, it must be helped by turning on other power when the windmill stops. It also has to be delivered. That raises its cost to about $60. That's more than power from a natural-gas plant, but is still only about one-sixth the recent price of power in wholesale markets.

Wind also hedges the region's risk from low rainfall, world energy crises or weird legislation in California. The Bonneville Power Administration, which has 7,000 megawatts of hydro power, now plans to buy 1,000 megawatts of wind. One-eighth may not sound like much, but it is. It is a very big deal.