The proposed Coyote Crest Wind Energy Park project near Doty has passed all county-level permit processes and stands ready for construction, officials with EverPower announced last week.
EverPower and Pe Ell North, LLC, plan to build 47 wind turbines on just over 3,600 acres in Lewis and Pacific counties for the purpose of generating 120 megawatts of power. Forty-four of the turbines would be built in Lewis County on leased land owned by Weyerhaeuser, with the other three on Department of Natural Resources-owned land in Pacific County.
The only thing standing between the permitting process and beginning the bidding for contractors, is finding a buyer for the electricity the turbines would generate. Dave McClain, vice president of Northwest operations for EverPower’s Portland, Ore., office, did not specify who could potentially purchase the electricity, or provide a timeframe for the bidding process to begin on the project.
“We need to see some clarity in regard to market conditions before we go into an aggressive bid process,” McClain said. “We’re maintaining an interested parties and contractors list, and we’ll go from there.”
McClain said EverPower “will remain committed” to ensuring a general contractor for the project finds as many local workers as possible.
The Coyote Crest Wind Energy Park would come with a price tag of roughly $230 million, with the goal of powering up the equivalent of 38,000 homes. The construction project would employ 95 workers, and when complete would require 10 full-time employees to maintain the site and equipment. An estimated $2 million in revenue would flow back into Lewis County annually, according to information provided by representatives from EverPower’s Portland office and the Lewis County Economic Development Council.
Lewis County Hearings Examiner Mark Scheibmeir had granted EverPower a special-use permit for the property in December, which had been met with favorable comments during the procedure from the Thurston Lewis Mason Central Labor Council, Fire District 16, the Lewis County Economic Development Council, Pe Ell School District, and the Riverside Fire Authority.
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Christopher Brewer: (360) 807-8235
