A crane holds the Tamástslikt Cultural Institute’s new 50-kilowatt Endurance E-3120 wind turbine nacelle in place as workers assemble the electricity-generating works to the tower. The completed wind turbine was dedicated on Thursday. Courtesy photo
MISSION — The Tamástslikt Cultural Institute dedicated its new 50-kilowatt Endurance E-3120 wind turbine on Thursday, the latest step on the interpretive center and museum’s path toward creating a net-zero energy building.
Net-zero energy is achieved when on-site renewable energy generation meets a building’s energy needs over one year.
Over the last decade, Tamástslikt — on the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, has made energy-saving improvements that have reduced electricity and natural gas usage by 63 percent and 76 percent, respectively, and saved nearly $750,000 in energy costs to date, according to a Tamástslikt news release.
The new turbine — said in the release to be the first of its kind in Oregon and the only wind turbine on a reservation in the Pacific Northwest — is expected to produce more than 94,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, or about 20 percent of the green building’s already diminished electricity demand. Tamástslikt estimates that this will add up to approximately $480,000 in energy savings over 30 years.
The wind turbine was funded with a $170,992 incentive from Energy Trust of Oregon and up to $257,372 through a funding award from customers of Pacific Power’s Blue SkySM renewable energy program.
“The project sets a great example for the community by making a visible commitment to renewable energy, increasing awareness about the region’s developing wind resource and reducing Tamástslikt’s operating costs,” said Bill Clemens, Pacific Power’s regional community manager in Walla Walla.
Tamástslikt takes another step toward energy independence
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