A10
Ag Week
wallowa.com
March 21, 2018
Wallowa County Chieftain
Ranchers pursue energy projects
Triple Creek and Schaafsma
ranches hope to benefit from
energy generated off of their
shared irrigation pipeline
By Katy Nesbitt
Contributing Writer
A conditional use per-
mitted on Wallowa County
ranchland this winter would
allow two cattle producers to
offset their power costs with
energy generated on their
shared irrigation pipeline.
The Triple Creek Ranch
sprawls across the upper Wal-
lowa Valley north of Wallowa
Lake, abutting the Schaafsma
Ranch. Ditch water diverted
from a nearby creek runs
through a pipe and irrigates
pasture on both ranches.
If the project is built,
excess pressure from the
pipeline will generate energy
sent to the power grid via
power lines less than 20 feet
from the generator.
Kyle Petrocine, Renew-
able Energy Manager for
Wallowa Resources, the
local organization coordinat-
ing the project, said there are
operational benefits to both
ranches.
“The ranches will share
the net metering credit gen-
erated and have lower oper-
ational costs due to lower
power costs,” Petrocine said.
Ranch
owner
Lori
Schaafsma said if the proj-
ect goes through, power will
only be generated during the
irrigation season. She said
the energy credits earned
through power generation
can only be used by the part-
nering ranches.
The cost-saving could
be considerable. While
Schaafsma said their power
bill runs nearly $3,000 a
year, Scott Shear, man-
ager of the Triple Creek
Ranch, said his ranch spends
roughly $20,000 on electric-
ity annually.
The cost savings are sig-
nificant, but so is the initial
outlay for permitting, siting
and construction.
Schaafsma said she and
her husband, Tom, have long
been interested in harness-
ing power off their irrigation
pipeline but need grant fund-
ing to pay for installation.
“We had always talked
about it, but when we were
told how much it would cost,
it was way more than we
could afford,” Schaafsma
said.
Funding for hydro proj-
ects, Petrocine said, is always
a hold-up
“Hydro is still fairly
expensive, even for small-
scale projects,” Petrocine
said.
To help pay for the project,
Petrocine said he is applying
for grants this spring and tar-
geting fall of this year for
installation.
The proposed power
plant on the upper Wallowa
Valley ranches will be the
third hydro project Wallowa
Resources has fostered; the
first two were installed on a
ranch in the mid-Wallowa
River Valley between Lostine
and Wallowa on the Spaur
Ranch in 2010 and 2016.
Now
that
Wallowa
Resources has made hydro
a priority, Petrocine said he
anticipates overseeing two
projects a year. From concept
to installation, each project
takes an estimated two years.
Permitting alone takes about
six months. Wallowa County
granted the Schaafsma per-
mit Jan. 30.
“Now that we have our
ducks in a row, things will be
accelerating,” said Petrocine.
Energy Trust of Oregon
has funded feasibility stud-
ies for these Wallowa County
projects, including a few that
didn’t pencil out.
A large chunk of funding
for a $219,000 project at the
head of Wallowa Lake was
received through a Pacific
Power’s Blue Sky Grant — a
fund supported through rate-
payers who dedicate a por-
tion of their bill to renewable
energy development.
County
Commissioner
Susan Roberts said Pacific
Power granted $60,000 for
the installation of a power
plant that will generate
around 150 kilowatts a year,
saving the project’s owner,
the Wallowa Lake Service
District, a municipal water
and sewer entity managed by
Wallowa County, $15,000 a
year in energy costs.
The log-cabin style pump
house will be in Wallowa
Lake State Park’s camp-
ground, Petrocine said, and
will have an interpretive sign
explaining how a spring on
the mountainside powers the
turbine.
Construction on the
hydroelectric plant at Wal-
lowa Lake State Park will
begin in October or Novem-
ber, after the tourist season,
Petrocine said.
This story originally
appeared in the Chieftain’s
sister publication, Capital
Press.
Terry Decker - Owner/Sales
202 E North St, Enterprise, OR 97828 • 541-426-3128 • www.milliganmotors.net
Thank you Wallowa County
farmers and ranchers!
Thank You
Wallowa County
Farmers and Ranchers
Thank you Wallowa County
Farmers & Ranchers!
Concrete Deliveries Serving
Homeowners & Contractors
Mixed On-Site • Metered Concrete
Only Pay for What You Use
Contact Greg at 541-263-0250
209 NW First St., Enterprise • 541-426-4567
Happy
Ag week
Wallowa
County
541-426-0320
Ed Staub & Sons
Energy Community Service.
Supporting
Wallowa County
Farmers, Ranchers
and Agriculture
201 East Hwy 82
Enterprise, OR 97828
Thank You Wallowa County Farmers & Ranchers!
Old Fashioned
Values
Sales & Service
311 W. Main Street
Enterprise, Oregon
541-426-2100
800 S. River Enterprise, Oregon
541-426-9228