Harnessing the Horse Heaven Wind
At full build-out of a 600 MW facility, the Horse Heaven project could generate up to $60 million in property tax revenue to Benton County over the design life of the project (approximately 25 years), and under current allocations, the largest proportion of those funds would support local schools.
Scout Clean Energy has been working to develop a wind energy project in Benton County, and this year is anticipated to reach important milestones for permitting and construction. The Horse Heaven Wind Farm project will be located just south of the Tri-Cities and would bring up to 600 megawatts (MW) of wind energy to the region and the state of Washington.
The Horse Heaven Wind Farm will consist of up to 198 GE turbines and produce enough electricity to power about 140,000 homes with clean, renewable energy — while also generating local tax revenue and employment opportunities. The project will create approximately 300 temporary construction jobs and 12-16 long-term family-wage positions once the facility begins operation.
Renewable Energy On the Horizon
To-date, the company has substantial acreage south of the Tri-Cities under wind energy lease and easement agreements with landowners that are participating in the development. The project area consists primarily of private, cultivated agricultural land where each turbine and associated access roads removes only about a half-acre from agricultural production.
Scout Clean Energy is a utility-scale wind energy developer based in Boulder, Colorado. Formed in 2016, our team has an extensive track record developing large-scale wind projects. The most recent, the Persimmon Creek Wind Farm in Woodward County, Oklahoma began operations in December 2018 and the Ranchero Wind Farm in Crockett County, Texas began operations in October 2019.