Central Oregon News Digest • Summer 2009
Compiled by The Garner Group – August 24, 2009
ENERGY
Hydro plants in the pipeline, literally and figuratively
Federal stimulus grants to two Central Oregon irrigation districts, directed at water conservation, will fund canal piping and construction of small-scale generating plants. The Swalley Irrigation District will receive $2 million to complete enclosing 5.1 miles of its main canal north of Bend, including an 0.75-mW hydro plant near Highway 97. Three Sisters Irrigation District was awarded $1.3 million to initiate a pipeline project that will increase stream flows in Whychus Creek. This project eventually will include a 1.5-mW hydro plant. Both generating plants are “in-conduit” designs that utilize water flow within the pipeline.
County approves wind farm, with conditions
The Crook County planning commission has approved the West Butte Wind Power Project, proposed for a 20-acre site near Millican. Conditions include formation of a technical advisory committee to address wildlife concerns. Access will require a right-of-way permit from the Bureau of Land Management, in turn requiring an environmental impact study. Work on the $220 million project, which will involve from 32 to 54 turbines, is expected to start in spring 2010. The 104-mW project falls below the threshold that would require approval beyond the county level.
La Pine may yet see a biomass power plant
While one company’s plans to build a biomass-fueled power plant in La Pine are on hold, another has moved into the arena. Biogreen Sustainable Energy Co. of St. Helens, Ore., will buy a 10-acre parcel in the La Pine Industrial Park and build a $55-$60 million, 19-mW electricity generating plant fueled by thinnings from private and public forests nearby. The project will support 100 construction jobs and employ 20 people directly upon completion, plus another 80-90 indirect jobs in forestry and transportation. Silvan Power Co. has an option to buy 28 acres in La Pine for a biomass power plant but plans apparently have stalled over fuel availability issues.
