Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber and Washington Lt. Governor Brad Owen are to meet at the Oregon- Washington border today to dedicate the largest wind farm in the West, a facility that straddles both states.

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Developed, owned and operated by FPL Energy, the 263-megawatt Stateline Energy Center provides clean, renewable energy to PacificCorp Power Marketing (PPM), for its customers throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Gov. Kitzhaber and Lt. Gov. Owen joined FPL Energy President Ron Green, PPM CEO Terry Hudgens, Bonneville Power Administrator Steve Wright, Seattle City Councilmember Heidi Wills and more than 100 local and regional guests in a celebration of the Pacific Northwest's largest wind energy facility.

"The Stateline Wind Project is exciting, not only because we need the 263-megawatts of electricity - but also because it highlights the Northwest as a development center for clean energy. If we are to maintain our free markets and continue our economic growth, we must bring clean energy on line worldwide. The Stateline Wind Project exemplifies our commitment to achieving a sustainable world, and serves as an inspiration to the private and public sectors alike," said Gov. Kitzhaber.

"It's not often that we have such an outstanding example of government, private industry, and individual grass roots groups working together to accomplish a goad that everyone will benefit from," said Washington State Lt. Governor Owen.

The Stateline Energy Center was fully operational in December 2001, just nine months after construction of the facility began. But as with most large wind energy facilities, when sections of the facility were completed, electricity began flowing to PPM customers. The first power from Stateline reached consumers in July. The facility has the capacity to provide enough electricity to power about 60,000 homes and businesses.

"As the largest producer of wind energy in the nation, we are delighted that one of our bigger wind facilities is located in eastern Washington and Oregon to provide clean renewable energy to the region. We're grateful for the support we have received in the area for our company and for the Stateline Energy Center," said FPL Energy President Green.

"We've enjoyed great success marketing the output of Stateline to wholesale customers," said PPM CEO Hudgens. "We've overcome the challenges of delivering reliable, affordable wind power and created tailored renewable energy products. We believe renewable power holds great potential for meeting the future energy needs of the West," he added.

The Stateline Energy Center provides electricity for PPM customers including Bonneville Power Administration, and Seattle City Light, the Eugene Water and Electric Board and Avista Utilities.

"We are delighted to be the purchaser of about one-third of the Stateline project's capacity. We're looking forward to learning more about wind generated power and how best to blend it with our Northwest hydropower resources," said Steve Wright, administrator, Bonneville Power Administration (BPA).

"Seattle supported this project for all the right future reasons - protecting our climate, passing on a better world to our children, less pollution from energy production. But today's reasons are equally compelling - excellent technology, reasonable cost, diversifying our energy supply. This is a tremendous opportunity for Seattle and our entire region," said Seattle Councilwoman Wills.

FPL Energy is the nation's leader in wind energy generation, with 14 wind farms in Oregon, Washington, Iowa, Texas, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Kansas. This wind portfolio represents a net ownership of more than 1,400 megawatts. The company expects to build an additional 1,000 to 2,000 megawatts of wind energy projects by 2003. FPL Energy is a leading independent producer of clean energy from natural gas, wind, solar and hydroelectric. The company's portfolio includes 73 facilities in operation, under construction or in advanced stages of development in 17 states. New projects will bring total capacity to 10,000 megawatts by the end of 2003.

PPM is a non-utility power marketing subsidiary of ScottishPower and market leader in clean and green merchant energy. In addition to Stateline, PPM also markets the output of the Klamath Cogeneration Plant, a 484-megawatt natural gas-fired, advanced combined-cycle cogeneration facility in Klamath Falls, Ore. PacifiCorp, a regulated electric utility, a separate entity, is also a subsidiary of ScottishPower.

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SOURCE: FPL Energy, LLC.