Overcoming obstacles in wind energy development - Solar, Wind and Land: Conflicts in Renewable Energy Development - page 194

resource concerns throughout the development of its wind farm at Windy
Point with relatively few hang-ups.
The power of perseverance
Without question, there were points along the path to Cannon's completion
of the Windy Point/Windy Flats project when the viability of the project
was in question. Multiple other developers had previously tried and failed
to build wind farms in the area. Court challenges, transmission issues,
pressure from competing developers, a global economic crisis, and several
other obstacles stood in the way of the project's success at various times in
its planning and development stages. It would have surely been easier for
Hardke and Monkhouse to pursue an ordinary residential or retail devel-
opment project than to face the litany of struggles inherent in developing
a wind farm. However, rather than fold in the midst of these challenges,
Cannon and countless others connected to its project pressed forward and
worked tirelessly to overcome them.
Today, the fruits of these labors are abundantly evident in Klickitat
County. Cannon's 26-mile-long Windy Point/Windy Flats project is now
in full operation. Its 500 MW of generating capacity ranks it among the
largest wind energy projects in the United States. The wind farm produces
enough power on average to meet the electricity needs of approximately
250,000 homes. 8 It also generates millions of dollars in lease payments
annually for project landowners and millions more dollars in annual tax
revenues for the county. By nearly every measure, the project has created a
net benefit for the community and state where it resides.
Successful projects like Cannon's wind farm at Windy Point are a useful
reminder that renewable energy development often is possible and worth
pursuing despite the inevitable difficulty that it might entail. As government
subsidies and other policies driving the demand for renewable energy
gradually dry up in the coming years, these projects will face entirely
new types of challenges. However, they will continue to be within the
reach of determined developers in places where there is strong community
support. Like many industries, renewable energy development is one that
handsomely rewards persistence and hard work. And, in the case of a large
wind farm, the rewards can be truly amazing.
Notes
1 The Chinook winds occur naturally throughout the Pacific Northwest. To
read more about them , see generally Ward Cameron, Learn About the Famous
Chinook Winds (2005), available at www.mountainnature.com/climate/Chinook.
htm (last visited Nov. 19, 2013).
2 The author selected the Windy Point/Windy Flats project as the focus of the
case study in this chapter because he was one of many attorneys who served
as outside legal counsel to Cannon Power Corporation, the developer of the