Del Mar firm closes $547 million wind deal

By Onell R. Soto, UNION-TRIBUNE
Friday, September 10, 2010 at 10:18 a.m.

Del Mar-based Cannon Power Group said Thursday it closed a $547 million, 20-year deal to sell power from a big wind farm it is developing along the Columbia River in Washington state to a group of Southern California utilities.

The power will come from the 262 megawatt Windy Flats project in cattle country about 120 miles east of Portland, Ore.

In the deal, Cannon will pre-sell at set rates about 70 percent of the expected production from the wind farm to Southern California Public Power Authority, made up of the Imperial Irrigation District and 11 cities, including Los Angeles , Anaheim and Riverside.

The authority also agreed to buy the other power the wind farm produces.

The project is part of a $1.2 billion, 500 megawatt wind farm the company is building along 26 miles of ridge lines in Washington state.

Cannon is specializing in building wind projects outside California to sell power into the state. State requirements have utilities in the state looking for power from sources other than fossil fuels, but getting permission to build here is exceedingly difficult President Gary Hardke has said.

The company is developing a 1,000 megawatt project in the Baja California mountains east of San Diego.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010 ... wind-deal/