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Bringing more Wind Power into the Grid by Staff BPA Journal, July 2009

BPA began upgrading transmission lines near Milton- Freewater, Ore., in June to help carry power from a new 63-megawatt eastern Oregon wind project to customers of Clark Public Utilities in Clark County, Wash.

The 5.8-mile upgrade includes two elements - a tap line tying the new Combine Hills Wind Project in Umatilla County, Ore., to the transmission system and upgrade of adjacent lines to handle the extra power. This is the seventh tap line BPA has built to a new wind project.

BPA awarded the contract for the $3.7 million Combine Hills line project to International Line Builders, Inc., of Tualatin, Ore. The work involves replacing wooden poles and stringing new, higher-capacity wires along a line leading to a substation in Walla Walla, Wash. It will support about 25 construction jobs.

Wind energy in BPA's power system has more than doubled since 2007. With a current capacity of more than 2,000 MW, BPA is moving ahead with major network upgrades to support continued wind power growth.

Clark Public Utilities, which serves customers throughout Washington's Clark County, has agreed to purchase all of the wind project's power for 20 years.