Renewable energy projects are picking up pace in USA with Oregon Energy Facility Sitting Council giving it a green signal to build the world’s largest onshore wind farm- The Shepherd’s Flat Wind Farm .It will be built on private land (spanning Gilliam and Morrow counties); 5 miles southeast of Arlington and will consist of 300+ wind turbines, plus a combined installed capacity of 909 megawatts. According to Michael Grainey, director of the Oregon Department of Energy, this announcement marks a tremendous day for the state’s renewable energy options.

So far, the largest single wind farm (the Horse Hollow wind farm, located in Texas) holds a capacity of 765 MW. Development of the Shepherd’s Flat Wind Farm will be undertaken by Sacramento (California firm Caithness Shepherds Flat LLC) and it hopes to alleviate the current energy scenario in Oregon.The wind farm will double-up the Oregon’s wind capacity. While Shepherd’s farm might seem to be the largest so far, plan to build a 4,000 MW wind farm in Texas by business tycoon T. Boone Pickens by 2014, seems a wee bit outlandish.

As planned, Shepherd’s Flat Wind Farm will feed its power output to the Federal Columbia River Transmission System through Bonneville Power Administration’s Slatt Substation. Details about the commencement of this wind farm are still not announced. However, one thing is for sure, once completed the massive farm will be a boon to the state and will set an example for other countries which receive high wind velocities but haven’t tapped on this natural resource so far. Here’s wishing good luck to The Shepherd’s.
Via: treehugger