The (Big) Business of Wind Farms

Don Jenkins of the Longview Daily News reports on the development of a 204 megawatt wind farm in Klickitat County. Planned by local PUDs and power cooperatives, the farm will be owned by an investment group formed by Prudential Insurance and Lehman Brothers. Quoting Mr. Jenkins:

"The investors aren't interested in wind turbines, but they are interested in federal tax deductions available to private investors in environmentally friendly wind farms, said Alan Dashen, a financial consultant hired by the PUD to arrange the deal.[snip]

In a deal expected to close this week, investors will pay $173.5 million for the wind farm. The utilities will advance $187.7 million for 10 years' worth of power."

The deal also allows the utilities to meet the demands of the recently passed Initiative 937, which requires larger utilities in the state to meet certain targets for use of renewable energy resources.