PSE PURCHASES LAND IN POMEROY

POMEROY - Puget Sound Energy said it has completed the purchase of more than nine acres of land just outside downtown Pomeroy for the future site of an operations and maintenance facility for the utility's Lower Snake River Wind Project. Construction on the OM facility is set to begin this fall. Located on Falling Springs Road, the OM facility will include office space, equipment storage and parking. The 15,000-square-foot building will house as many as 25 per­manent employees from PSE and Siemens Energy, the wind turbine manufacturer for Phase I of the project. Employees from Siemens will be responsible for all maintenance of the wind turbines once they go online. PSE began construction on Phase I of the Lower Snake River Wind Project in Garfield County in the spring of 2010. Start of construction for the Columbia County portion pend­ing an appeal by rural property owners is unclear but won't occur until after 2012, company officials said earlier this month. The 343-megawatt Phase I project near Pomeroy will significantly increase PSE's total wind-power generating capacity with 149 turbines rated at 2.3 MW each. Phase I is expected to provide enough clean power for more than 100,000 homes and to be operational in 2012.