Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Two companies attempting to construct turbines
DAVENPORT — Two non-local companies are in the process of trying to lease private land to construct two wind farms in Lincoln County. Omaha-based Tenaska and Toronto-based Cordelio Power are partnering on the Hawk Creek and Lincoln Southwest projects, which aim to construct farms in the northeast and southeast portions of Lincoln County.
The Hawk Creek project would run north to Lake Roosevelt, east to Reardan, west to just west of Davenport and south to about Bluestem, while the Lincoln Southwest project would run north to south near Harrington.
Tenaska director of project management Monte Ten Kley said the company is working on leases and agreements with private landowners, and two more meetings are coming up in the next week in Lincoln County.
Ten Kley said the companies hope to build a 400-600-megawatt farm in the Davenport/Reardan area and a 200-350-megawatt farm near Harrington. They hope to secure 40-60,000 acres for the Hawk Creek project and 30,000 acres for Lincoln Southwest.
Turbines produce between 4.5 to six megawatts, Ten Kley said, meaning a 600-megawatt farm could equate to over 100 turbines.
About 150-200 acres of county land would be “turbined,” as each turbine takes up about 2/3 an acre, he said.
Ten Kley said about 7,000 to 8,000 acres of land have been signed up for the projects, but he declined to indicate how many landowners or farmers that equates to.
Lincoln County Commissioner Rob Coffman said company stakeholders approached the commissioners about the project some time ago but haven’t heard much correspondence since.
Ten Kley said the companies hope most, if not all, of the project will be on leased, private land, but could inquire about public land if necessary.
He added that the two Lincoln County locations tested high for best “wind resources” in the region. These would be the first wind farms the company has built in Washington, along with two pending, attempted builds in Spokane County.
Construction is still some time away. Ten Kley said the company still needs to reach interconnect agreements for turbine transmission and spend about two years on research before construction begins, which he expects to be in four to six years.
A substation location hasn’t been determined for the projects.
A term sheet from a wind project meeting held at Memorial Hall in Davenport Jan. 30 promises landowners would be compensated for pre-construction rent, annual rent during operations, crop damage compensation, signing and construction bonuses, acreage rent rates and turbine rent rates.
The companies have opened a Davenport office at 711 Morgan Street next to the fire station. Two more meetings are upcoming in Lincoln County. The companies will hold a meeting at Harrington Memorial Hall at 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 12 and at Reardan Community Hall at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 13.
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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