BELLEVUE, Wash. (Feb. 29, 2012) – Washington’s newest and largest wind farm – the Lower Snake River Wind Facility-Phase I – today began commercial operations, providing Puget Sound Energy’s 1.1 million electric customers with more renewable, emissions-free power.

The new facility’s 149 wind turbines – set among the wind-blown farm lands of Garfield County, in southeast Washington – will generate enough electricity, on average, to power about 100,000 homes.

“This is an important milestone for our customers and for the people of Garfield County,” Kimberly Harris, president and CEO of PSE, said. “With this new facility, our region is getting new jobs and a new source of clean energy.”

The 343-megawatt (MW) Lower Snake River project is PSE’s third wind farm. The utility’s 157-MW Hopkins Ridge Wind Facility, built in 2005, is in Columbia County. The 273-MW Wild Horse Wind and Solar Facility, built in 2006 and expanded in 2009, is in Kittitas County. Together, the three sites generate enough electricity, on average, to meet the total power requirements of approximately 230,000 households.
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