Puget Sound Energy’s Wild Horse Wind and Solar Facility

Fire Weather Forecasted 

Due to current weather forecasts, a Red Flag Warning has been issued for Kittitas Valley. As part of PSE’s wildfire safe operations, we will be turning on system settings that are more sensitive to potential hazards. These sensitive settings will be activated Friday morning and will remain in effect as long as elevated wildfire risk conditions persist.

Enhanced Powerline Settings are designed to help keep you safe, but they may result in unplanned power outages.

This is NOT a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS), where we proactively turn off power in advance of severe weather.

We understand the impact unexpected outages can have on our customers, so we've added additional staffing for our first responders and our operations center. For more information or to report a power outage, visit PSE’s Outage map.

Due to numerous wildfires in eastern and central Washington, air quality across the Kittitas Valley is currently within the unhealthy range. Wildfire smoke can seriously affect health, especially for high-risk individuals. To learn more about how to protect yourself and others, please visit the Washington State Department of Health page on staying safe from smoke.

Wild Horse Wind and Solar Facility

Located near Ellensburg in Kittitas County, PSE's second wind facility — the Wild Horse Wind and Solar Facility – has 148 turbines spanning nearly 11,000 acres. The facility can generate up to 271.3 megawatts of electricity, enough to serve an average of 60,000 homes annually. Wild Horse came on line in December 2006, and was expanded in 2009.

Wild Horse benefits the surrounding community by creating jobs and providing leasing income for landowners. The facility also produces significant local tax revenue.

Wild Horse also includes two solar installations, with a total of 2,723 solar panels, and a peak output of 500KW of electrical energy. When the first array was constructed in 2007, it was the largest solar array in the Pacific Northwest.

PSE also operates the Renewable Energy Center at Wild Horse. Check out the tours and recreational opportunities we offer at the facility and visit facebook.com/wildhorseREC for more information.

Fast facts

Its turbines can produce electricity at wind speeds as low as 9 mph. They reach their peak of production at 31 mph and shut down at constant wind speeds above 56 mph.
The total height of each tower with blades fully extended is 351 feet; total weight is approximately 257 tons.
Towers are 221 feet high and weigh 104 tons.
Each turbine blade is 128 feet long and weighs over 7 tons.
The diameter of each rotor is larger than the wingspan of a Boeing 747.
Each generator can produce 1.8-2 MW. The 690 volts at the generator is stepped-up to 34,500 volts by an on-board transformer.
The construction of each tower's foundation required 120 anchor bolts, and up to 260 cu. yards of concrete.
Each anchor bolt is 28 feet long and weighs approximately 150 lbs.
Turbine generators are manufactured by Vestas. More Vestas turbine facts.

The four large wind farms we own and operate, including Wild Horse, Lower Snake River, Hopkins Ridge, and Beaver Creek, generate enough power, on average, to serve over 230,000 homes annually.