Western Washington gains its largest wind facility to date with launch of Southern Power’s Skookumchuck
Southern Power has brought a 136 MW wind facility — known as Skookumchuck — online in Washington’s Lewis and Thurston Counties, marking the largest wind facility in western Washington and a new energy avenue for Green Direct customers of Puget Sound Energy.
The operation is Southern Power’s 12th wind facility, and its first in Washington. Consisting of 38 wind turbines, all power and associated renewable energy credits generated by the facility will be sold to PSE through a 20-year power purchase agreement. It should be able to power the equivalent of nearly 30,000 homes.
“Our customers have been asking for clean energy, and we have taken those requests to heart and created programs like Green Direct,” Mary Kipp, PSE president and CEO, said. “I’m proud that we were able to work in partnership with our customers to structure an industry-leading renewable energy program that meets their needs.”
Green Direct is an initiative focused on PSE’s corporate and governmental customers. They can opt to purchase 100 percent of their energy from dedicated, local, renewable energy sources that PSE pledges to keep stable and cost efficient. It’s part of a larger move by PSE to reach 100 percent clean energy by 2045, a demand called for by Washington’s Clean Energy Transformation Act.
“With this first phase of Green Direct, one hundred percent of the Capitol Campus’s electricity is now powered through renewable resources,” Chris Liu, Washington State Department of Enterprise Services Director, said. “And next year, six state agencies that reside outside the Capitol Campus will join the program. The state is making a significant investment in our future through Green Direct—not only are we able to lock in our rates over an extended period of time, which saves taxpayers money, we are taking advantage of local, reliable, and fully renewable energy sources.”
At least 20 customers have signed up for the program so far, ranging from major corporations like Target, REI, and Costco, to municipal governments like those of the cities of Bellevue and Kirkland, as well as academic partners such as Western Washington University.
As to the facility itself, Skookumchuck was acquired by Southern Power in October 2019. It is one of 41 wind and solar facilities now operating or under construction by the company.
“Skookumchuck Wind Facility is our first wind project in the state of Washington, and we are pleased to see this project achieve commercial operation,” Bill Grantham, Southern Power president, said. “The addition of this facility showcases our commitment to the development of wind energy and is an excellent addition to our growing renewable fleet.”
