Leaders kick off construction of wind farm on Palouse
The wind power farm to be built on the Palouse this summer will include 58 windmills between the town of 
Oakesdale and State Route 195.
That's a little larger than previously announced. Boston-based First Wind had said the wind farm would include 46 turbines. The 58 turbines each will be able to produce 1.8 megawatts of electricity, capturing the prevailing southwest wind, for a total of 105 megawatts of power.
The company has a 30-year agreement to sell the power to Avista, the Spokane-based utility serving Eastern Washington and North Idaho. When finished, the wind farm will generate power for about 30,000 Northwest homes.
The company will mark the start of construction today at the project, about 45 miles south of Spokane in northern Whitman County. Construction is expected to be completed by November. The project will be online and operating by the end of the year.
Today's event will be attended by State Sen. Mark Schoesler, State Rep. Susan Fagan, Avista CEO Scott Morris, First Wind CEO Paul Gaynor and other industry and community leaders.
