LRHS students tour wind farm in Kittitas County

Wind is the fastest expanding sector of renewable energy.

Its potential for the future was the motivation for a field trip for the Lind-Ritzville High School (LRHS) Advanced Placement Environmental Science class and other Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) club students.

On Wednesday, March 30, 10 students visited Puget Sound Energy’s Wild Horse Wind and Solar Farm in Kittitas County.

Students had the opportunity to learn about the process of making a wind farm, the intricacies of the technology behind wind turbines, and just how much wind energy is expanding.

Puget Sound Energy (PSE) is the oldest energy provider in Washington state. They operate various sustainable energy facilities throughout the state, including three wind farms, two hydroelectric plants, and eight natural gas combined cycle facilities.

The first wind farm in the world was in Washington state.

Even today, PSE maintains Washington’s role in the wind sector as the largest utility owner of wind energy in the Pacific Northwest and the second largest utility owner for wind in the nation.

Wild Horse Wind and Solar Farm features 149 wind turbines that have a generating capacity of 273 megawatts of electricity and 2,723 photovoltaic solar cells with a generating capacity of 502 kilowatts.

The solar energy produced powers PSE’s visitor center and operates the wind turbine computers in the absence of wind, while the turbines generate electricity to power 63,000 homes.

In combination with their Hopkin’s Ridge facility near Dayton, and their Lower Snake River facility near Pomeroy, wind energy from PSE provides electricity for 200,000 homes.

Often, PSE treats electricity as a commodity.

They explain, “The revenue from these sales helps to reduce our customers’ power costs and allows other utilities to take advantage of the benefits of renewable energy.”

All students in attendance learned something new along the way.

MicKayla Hall explained, “I learned that energy is transported all over the country, not just to local cities.”

Many students remarked about the size of the turbines. PSE’s Wild Horse facility features Vestas V80 turbines (denoting each blade is 80 meters or 129 feet), while the Lower Snake River Facility has turbines even larger.

The tower of the turbine is 221 feet of rolled steel, tapering from 13 feet across at the base to seven feet across at the top.

For a comparison, the wingspan of V80s is larger than that of a Boeing 747. The nacelle, the box on top of the tower that the blades are attached to, is the size of a school bus.

“It was kind of surprising just how big those things are when you get up close,” Jack Anderson said.

The monumental size of the turbines causes them to be deflected by the wind, something that isn’t obvious until the observer is inside or directly below the turbine.

Morgan Lane explained, “I was surprised by being able to see the tower sway, and how they rotate to find the wind.”

The students also learned the prevalence of computer science in wind farms.

The turbines begin to generate electricity in nine mph winds, optimize generation in 31 mph winds, and stop generation in sustained 56 mph winds.

Regardless of the wind’s speed, the turbine blades are programmed to change the pitch, or rotate, so that they always spin at 16.5 revolutions per minute (rpm).

Adjustments are made by computers in each turbine to angle the blades in or out of the wind to reach this specific rpm. This helps to minimize wear and damage on the mechanics of the turbine.

Other programming maximizes efficiency by pivoting turbines into the wind, adjusting on its yaw axis every two to three minutes.

Anderson said, “I thought it was cool that each windmill is able to think for itself.”

The trip to Wild Horse Wind and Solar Farm was a positive experience for the students.

Hall said, “I did have fun because not only did I get to go inside of a turbine, I got to learn about energy.”

“It surprised me how big the windmills were in person, compared to seeing them from far away,” Tucker Guiles said. “I had loads of fun and learned a lot.”

For community members interested in visiting Wild Horse themselves, the facility is open from April through November.