Portland General Electric Company completes Tucannon River Wind Farm

Dec 16, 2014

Farm sits on 20,000 acres near Dayton, Washington

By Diego Flammini, Farms.com

With its 116 turbines and maximum installed capacity of 267 megawatts, Portland General Electric’s (PGE) newest wind farm, Tucannon River, is officially complete, functional, and ahead of schedule.

The site is estimated to produce an average of 101 megawatts, enough to power about 84,000 homes. Tucannon is PGE’s second fully owned and operated wind farm along with Biglow Canyon and will contribute to Oregon’s Renewable Portfolio Standard, which requires the largest utility companies in the state to provide “25% of their retail sales of electricity from newer, clean, renewable sources of energy by 2025.”

“Tucannon River Wind Farm is a key infrastructure investment that will serve our customers with clean, renewable energy for decades to come,” said Jim Piro, PGE president and CEO. “Tucannon River supports a balanced, diverse energy portfolio for reliable, reasonably priced power.

Not only will the new wind farm provide different sources of energy for customers, but will also impact the surrounding community.

“The Tucannon River Wind Farm has been a great addition to Columbia County and the Dayton community,” said Mike Talbott, Columbia County Chair. “The project brought hundreds of construction jobs to the region, and now 18 permanent, family-wage positions to the Dayton community. It’s also bringing income to local businesses and increasing county tax revenue. We’re happy to have PGE in our community.”

Video: How Can We Grow More Food With Less Impact?

For over two decades, Dr. Mitloehner has been at the forefront of research on how animal agriculture affects our air and our climate. With deep expertise in emissions and volatile organic compounds, his work initially focused on air quality in regions like California’s Central Valley—home to both the nation’s richest agricultural output and some of its poorest air quality.

In recent years, methane has taken center stage in climate discourse—not just scientifically, but politically. Once a topic reserved for technical discussions about manure management and feed efficiency, it has become a flashpoint in debates over sustainability, regulation, and even the legitimacy of livestock farming itself.

Dr. Frank Mitloehner, Professor and Air Quality Specialist with the CLEAR Center sits down with Associate Director for Communications at the CLEAR Center, Joe Proudman.