ELLENSBURG, Wash.--()--The Desert Claim Wind Power project will create 282 jobs and generate more than $33 million in new economic activity throughout Washington state in the year it is constructed, an ECONorthwest study estimates.
“With Washington’s unemployment rate currently above 9 percent, Desert Claim will help sustain jobs in the hard-hit construction sector and create new renewable-energy jobs once the wind farm is in operation.”
Once in operation, Desert Claim will create 36 jobs and $6.2 million in new economic activity statewide annually, the study also estimates. Economic activity includes all purchases of goods and services, payroll and income from jobs generated by the wind farm’s construction and operation.
“Our study shows that the Desert Claim project will have a significant impact on the economy, particularly during the construction phase,” said Stephen Grover, a managing director at the economics consulting firm ECONorthwest and author of the Desert Claim statewide economic impact study. “With Washington’s unemployment rate currently above 9 percent, Desert Claim will help sustain jobs in the hard-hit construction sector and create new renewable-energy jobs once the wind farm is in operation.”
EFSEC to hold hearings
Grover and other experts will testify on the project July 13 in Ellensburg when the state Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council holds its adjudicatory hearing. Public hearings will allow the public to provide testimony on the evenings of July 13 in Ellensburg and July 21 in Seattle.
Desert Claim would be located about 8 miles northwest of Ellensburg on 5,200 acres of rural land crossed by three major transmission lines. It is being developed by enXco, one of the nation’s largest and oldest wind farm developers, which submitted a revised application to the state Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC) in February.
With 95 turbines and 190 megawatts of power-generating capacity, Desert Claim could generate enough power for 57,000 homes.
New jobs & income
Approximately 282 new full and part-time jobs will be created by the construction of Desert Claim in Washington state, the ECONorthwest study estimates. Thirty-six full and part time jobs will be generated annually once the wind farm is in operation.
According to the study, the construction phase of the project will increase the state’s wage income by more than $12 million and business income by more than $2 million. Once in operation, the study estimates Desert Claim will increase the state’s wage income by $1.9 million annually.
New Tax Revenue
The study estimates that Desert Claim will generate $995,000 in new state and local tax revenue during the construction phase.
Once in operation, it will provide more than $138,000 in business and personal tax revenue. Another $435,000 in turbine lease payments will go into the State School Fund.
These amounts are in addition to more than $1.2 million annually in local property taxes for Kittitas County schools and public services once Desert Claim is in operation. Property taxes for county schools and services were estimated in a study of Kittitas County economic activity due to Desert Claim. The study was done by Central Washington University economics professors and released several months ago.
Both studies were commissioned and funded by enXco.
The full study can be found at the following link on the EFSEC web site: http://www.efsec.wa.gov/Desert%20Claim/Adjudication/Prefiled%20Testimony/Desert%20Claim/Ex%2015.2.pdf
About ECONorthwest
ECONorthwest (www.econw.com) is the region’s largest and most respected economics consulting firm, with offices in Portland and Eugene, Ore. Since 1974, the firm has completed more than 2,000 projects in economics, finance, planning, and policy evaluation. Dr. Stephen Grover, the project manager and primary author of the study, leads the firm’s energy practice and is an adjunct professor at Portland State University. Dr. Grover was recently named to Governor Kulongoski’s Energy Planning Council, a 12-member committee created to advise the Governor on Oregon energy policy issues.
About enXco, an EDF EN Company:
enXco (www.enxco.com) - an EDF Energies Nouvelles Company (www.edf-energies.nouvelles.com) develops, constructs, operates and manages renewable energy projects throughout the United States. For more than two decades, we have been a leader in wind-energy focusing on large-scale wind projects. Today enXco’s portfolio includes solar and biomass technologies, in an effort to help drive our nation’s transition to a sustainable energy economy. enXco is a significant owner and developer of wind-energy installations in the United States, and is the largest third-party operations & maintenance provider for wind farms in North America.
This communication contains forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally identified by the words "expects," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimates" and similar expressions. Although enXco believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, investors are cautioned that forward-looking information and statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of enXco and that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied or projected by, the forward-looking information and statements. Thus, forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. All forward-looking statements included herein are based on information available to enXco on the date hereof. Except as required by applicable law, enXco does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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