Lewis And Clark College Students Tour Patu Wind Farm With Oneenergy

Do your students know where their power comes from? Incoming freshman at Lewis & Clark College do. OneEnergy President, Bill Eddie, drove a bus of 22 incoming Lewis & Clark freshman from the Lewis & Clark's Portland, Oregon campus 100 miles east to the PaTu Wind Farm in Wasco, Oregon to get a first hand look at the source of their school's clean power. During the visit, students heard the story of how this locally-owned wind project was financed and built, learned about the technical aspects of wind generation, and experienced the reality of the day-to-day management of the wind farm. The students met with Ormand Hildebrand, the project's owner and operator, received a guided tour of the project's control room, and checked out the project's six 1.5 MW GE turbines. Lewis & Clark College purchases Green-e certified wind power equal to 100 percent of its campus-wide electricity use from OneEnergy Renewables. A student initiative to promote an opt-out green fee to fund 100 percent renewable energy allowed for this significant step to be made. OneEnergy sources green power for Lewis Salmon Falls Wind Park near Hagerman, Idaho; and Fossil Gulch Wind Park, also near Hagerman, Idaho.