Wind and Solar Farm Tour Illustrates The Challenges of Moving to Renewables

Have you ever driven east on I-90, past Ellensburg, and seen a forest of wind turbines? Have you ever wanted to see them up close or learn how much they can help increase the electricity supply?I recently toured the Wild Horse Wind and Solar facility, located near Vantage. If you're interested in energy and the challenges of increasing renewable electricity supply, it is well worth going on the tour.

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Wild Horse Wind and Solar Facility (near Vantage, WA)

There are two tours per day, at 10 am and 2 pm, between April and October. No reservation is needed. The starting point is the visitor center near Vantage, which is about 2 ½ hours' drive from Seatac Airport. Google Maps shows exiting at exit 115. If coming from eastern Washington, take exit 136, the same exit as Gingko Petrified Forest, then drive on the Old Vantage Highway.

The visitor center also has exhibits anyone can view during open hours. One of the more interesting items is an electric car from over 100 years ago that was used by a doctor in the area.

For current information, check the visitor center web page.

Wild Horse is one of several renewable energy facilities in the state. Puget Sound Energy's Wild Horse Wind and Solar Facility opened in 2006.

According to a fact sheet linked from this PSE page, the wind turbines generate 273 megawatts of electricity per year, while the solar facility generates 503 megawatts. Wind is seasonal and highly variable, which is evident by slow-moving or even stopped wind turbines. When the temperature difference between the Columbia Basin and Puget Sound is low (in this case, only about 10 degrees ---60 vs. 50), there simply is not a lot of wind.

The wind turbines look impressive, but several facts point to a sobering reality: wind power is not a magic potion but a free-lunch way to reduce carbon emissions.

Some realities:

1. The entire Puget Sound Energy wind farms generate only 772 megawatts of electricity per year, which is enough for 165,000 households at current use....Wild Horse is about a third of this. The Census Bureau states there are about 3.1 Million households in the state. So the total wind farms in Washington State can power roughly 5% of households - but that ignores increases for cloud computing, AI and electric vehicles.
2. As mentioned, the solar facility generates 503 megawatts. This sounded very impressive until the facility guide said that's basically enough to power the visitor center and some road lights in the area, but not much more.
3. Power generation from wind is seasonal. There's usually the most power in early spring and then the fall. But when power need is greatest in winter for heating, the temperature difference between eastern and western Washington is not large enough to drive a lot of wind. So then the power needs to come from other sources (and it won't be solar, because if there are no clouds, the sun is shining for a small part of the day).
4. Adding more turbines to the existing site is not feasible because the turbines need a significant amount of separation, and get the most wind when they are on top of ridges.
5. The turbines wear out. At some point in the next 10 to 15 years, all of the current turbines will be replaced. The hope is most components can be recycled.

Governor Inslee's Upcoming Decisions on Wind Farms

One of the most consequential decisions facing Governor Inslee as he concludes his term is whether to approve all, part, or none of a proposed wind farm near Richland. As recently reported in the Seattle Times story (also published in the Yakima Herald,) the size was cut in half of the proposed Horse Heaven Hills wind farm, located near Richland, before being approved by the state's Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council. Governor Inslee rejected this recommendation on May 23, 2024. The Seattle Times story states:

"Washington needs more energy," Inslee wrote. The state's energy demands could grow a fifth by 2030 and nearly double by 2050.  

"As originally proposed, the Horse Heaven Hills project would provide about 5% of the new electricity needed in the next decade," Inslee wrote.

Future Power Needs

Here is another Seattle Times story with more details about future power needs. To provide the electricity needed for electric cars, AI, and cloud computing, phasing out natural gas for home heating, and more, we need the output from more than 20 wind and solar farms the size of the original proposal … in just 11 years, by 2035. It is well worth visiting an existing wind farm that also generates solar power, to see how renewable energy works.  

On our tour, we went inside a wind turbine at the base. When the turbines are spinning, they vibrate, and there's definitely some background noise. The turbines use electricity and magnets. The tour guide was emphatic that no one with a pacemaker should come inside. All in all, a visit is well worth your time because it offers the opportunity to learn just how complicated and challenging it is to move to renewable energy.