FOUR - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, December 16, 2020
Spiritually Speaking
PGE’s and NextEra
Energy Resources’ True and lasting happiness
leading-edge
renewable energy
project powers up
Wind, solar and battery facility
advances delivery of clean energy
future
Portland General Elec-
tric Company (NYSE:
POR) has announced the
start of commercial power
generation at the Wheat-
ridge Renewable Energy
Facility in eastern Oregon.
Wheatridge is a joint project
of PGE and a subsidiary of
NextEra Energy Resources,
LLC. This ground-breaking
new facility marks a mile-
stone in Oregon’s accelera-
tion to a clean energy future
and will play an important
role in achieving PGE’s
recently established com-
panywide goal of net zero
greenhouse gas emissions
by 2040.
“Customers want and
expect cleaner, greener en-
ergy sources,” said Maria
Pope, PGE president and
CEO. “This is an exciting
step toward completion
of this important resource
and adds to our growing
wind generation portfolio.
We deeply appreciate the
partnerships that make the
Wheatridge project possi-
ble, with NextEra and with
the transmission services
teams at the Bonneville
Power Administration and
Umatilla Electric Cooper-
ative.”
Wheatridge will be one
of the first large-scale ener-
gy facilities in the United
States to combine wind,
solar and battery storage re-
sources at a single location.
The 300-megawatt wind
farm is now complete and
delivering power to PGE
customers. The 50-mega-
watt solar and 30-megawatt
battery facilities will be
completed by the end of
2021.
“An important commu-
nity effort like Wheatridge
needs teamwork, and I’m
happy to have teamed up
over the years with PGE,
Umatilla Electric, Morrow
County, farmers like Jerry
Rietmann and all the local
officials to help this excit-
ing Eastern Oregon proj-
ect get over any hurdles,”
U.S. Senator Ron Wyden
said. “The latest good news
about the wind farm part of
this innovative renewable
energy project will have
huge benefits when it comes
both to facing the climate
crisis and generating good
rural jobs.”
With the addition of
Wheatridge’s wind farm,
PGE’s wind generation
portfolio now totals more
than 1,000 megawatts (one
gigawatt) nameplate ca-
pacity, available from five
owned or contracted wind
farms in the Northwest –
typically generating enough
power to serve the equiv-
alent of 340,000 homes.
When complete, the solar
and battery storage facili-
ties will be among the larg-
est in Oregon.
“Projects like Wheat-
ridge Energy Facility pro-
vide family-wage jobs, tax
The Morrow County
Wolf Depredation Advisory
Committee will hold a spe-
cial meeting on Thursday,
December 17 to accept
additional applications for
grant funds. The applica-
tions must be for expenses
incurred to deter wolf activ-
ity. Some examples include
expenses for fladry, range
riders, or bone pile remov-
al/burial. Applications can
be found on the Morrow
County website: https://
www.co.morrow.or.us/bc-
wdac.
The application and
W-9 must be received by
3 p.m., Thursday, Decem-
ber 17 by one of the fol-
lowing methods: email to
rlutcher@co.morrow.or.us
or drop off at the Board of
Commissioners office, Bar-
tholomew Building, Rm.
201, 110 N. Court St.
The committee will
meet later that day to de-
termine the distribution of
grant funds. The meeting
will take place at 7 p.m.,
Bartholomew Building Up-
per Conference Room, 110
N. Court St., Heppner. The
meeting will be available
electronically via Zoom
or call-in. The details for
attending electronically can
be found on the agenda on
the Morrow County web-
site: https://www.co.mor-
row.or.us/meetings
For questions, please
contact committee chair
Dean Robinson, 541-980-
2350.
Wolf Depredation
special meeting
scheduled
By Fr. Thankachan Joseph SDB, St. Patrick Church
All of us want to be happy, and we keep trying to find
happiness that seems to dodge us frequently. What do we
believe would really make us happy? Deep down in our
hearts we know what will make us happy, but perhaps we
are not focused on obtaining that which we crave. Have
we tried finding our happiness in our God? God’s word
invites us and challenges us to seek the Lord and find our
happiness in Him. As believers, we feel that if God were
to tell us exactly what He wants of us, we would gladly
do His will. But are we truly willing to collaborate with
His plans?
revenue for our schools
and services and strengthen
Morrow County’s position
in the region’s clean en-
ergy economy,” said Don
Russell, Morrow Coun-
ty commissioner. “We’re
pleased to play a part in
providing clean energy to
Oregonians.”
Project details
Located just northeast
of Lexington in Morrow
County, Oregon, Wheat-
ridge’s wind farm gener-
ates power using 120 wind
turbines manufactured by
GE Renewable Energy,
Inc. The facility uses a
mix of 2.3-megawatt and
2.5-megawatt machines.
Final selection of the spe-
cific equipment to be used
at the associated solar farm
and battery storage facility
is still pending.
Up to 300 jobs were cre-
ated at Wheatridge during
construction of the wind
farm; up to 175 workers
will be employed to build
the solar and storage sites.
Approximately 10 full-time
employees will operate the
combined facilities once all
three components are fully
commissioned for service.
“Our long-term part-
nership with PGE has cre-
ated family-wage jobs in
our community and brought
clean- energy innovations
like the Wheatridge Energy
Facility,” said Ryan Neal,
general manager of the Port
of Morrow. “This makes
our region more attractive,
competitive and desirable
for residents and business.”
Ownership and con-
struction
The project’s early de-
velopment work as a wind
farm was performed by
Swaggart Wind Power,
LLC, an affiliate of MAP®
Energy. NextEra Energy
Resources purchased the
development rights and to-
gether with PGE expanded
the project scope to include
solar generation and battery
storage.
Power from the project
will reach PGE customers
in Portland and the north
Willamette Valley via a
new transmission line, con-
structed by Umatilla Elec-
tric Cooperative, that con-
nects Wheatridge locally
with the Bonneville Power
Administration’s regional
high-voltage grid.
PGE now owns 100
megawatts of the wind proj-
ect. A subsidiary of NextEra
Energy Resources owns
the balance of the project
and will sell its output to
PGE under 30-year power
purchase agreements. The
NextEra Energy Resources’
subsidiary is building and
will operate the combined
facility.
PGE expects to invest
approximately $155 million
for its owned portion of the
project.
BMCC seeks budget
committee
representatives
The Blue Mountain
Community College Board
of Education is seeking to
fill vacancies on its budget
committee for represen-
tation from the Pendleton
area and Morrow County.
The budget committee
holds a series of public
meetings to review, discuss,
make additions or deletions,
and approve the budget that
the district’s budget officer
proposes. After finishing
indoor
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its deliberations, the bud-
get committee approves
the budget and sends it to
the district board of direc-
tors for final approval. The
committee also specifies
the maximum tax rate or
amount for any fund im-
posing a property tax levy.
Budget committee
members serve a three-year
term and will have an orien-
tation to the process prior
to the budget committee
meetings that begin April
2021.Interested applicants
are asked to submit a let-
ter briefly outlining their
interest and qualifications
by January 20, 2021, to the
BMCC President’s Office,
PO Box 100, Pendleton,
OR 97801 or by email to
president@bluecc.edu.
DEADLINE:
MONDAYS
AT 5PM
From the second book of Samuel (7: 1-5, 8-16), we
read of King David aspiring to build a dwelling place
for Yahweh. But God has no need of the temple that Da-
vid proposes to build. The
Lord reminds David that it
was always the initiative of
Yahweh that made David
victorious in battle, that
gave him power and fame,
that had made possible all
David’s achievements and
successes. Rather than Da-
vid building a temple for the
Lord, the Lord will make
David a house and establish
his dynasty that will stand Fr. Thankachan Joseph
secure forever. We are not
called to build a temple to the Lord, but we are asked to
let God establish His kingdom in us and through us.
Romans 16 (25-27) is the concluding part of the
letter to Romans, wherein Paul exhorts all the people of
God to be faithful to the Gospel, which is the wisdom of
God made known to Christians. God’s plan of salvation
for Jews and Gentiles has come to fulfillment in Christ.
The good news must be broadcast everywhere. They are
reminded that their role is to be obedient in faith to the
plan of God.
The Gospel of Luke focuses on Mary and the role she
was called to play in God’s plan of salvation. Mary collab-
orated with God’s plan by saying, “Yes.” God had made
a promise to David that he would build his dynasty and
that it would be great and a source of blessing. In Mary’s
“Yes,” that promise was being brought to fruition. As
God came to dwell in the Ark of the Covenant in David’s
time, and as David danced before the ark, expressing his
joy in Yahweh, so Mary welcomed the Lord into the new
ark of the Covenant, her body, and glorified God in her
song of praise, the Magnificat. Mary is presented to us
as a role model for our response. Mary, like every young
woman, had her plans and dreams. She was surprised by
the coming of an angel who reveals God’s plan for her.
“How can this be, since I am a virgin?” Her decision to
accept the message of the angel led her along a totally
different path. She models for us in the following ways:
1) Mary, ardent listener of the word of God: As we
are preparing for the feast of Christmas, the life of Mary
should inspire every one of us to be like her, to be more
open to the Word of God in our lives, too. We see Mary
listening to God’s word. How do we spend our lives, es-
pecially during this pandemic? Do we, like our Blessed
Mother, take time to listen to the prompting of Christ?
2) Mary, full of Grace: Mary was addressed by the an-
gel as, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor
with God.” What things do we need to leave aside, what
do we need to do to be addressed as God’s favored ones?
3) She bore Him in her heart: I think our blessed
mother inspires all of us, as we prepare the groundwork
for Christmas, to bear Him in our hearts always. We know
she had the privilege of bearing Jesus in her womb, but
before she bore Him in her womb, she carried Him in her
heart always. She invites every one of us to do the same.
4) Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord (LK. 1:38).
Mary knew as a good Jewish woman what the repercus-
sions would be of her “Yes” to the Lord. Her surrender to
God’s plan teaches us that we need to surrender ourselves
occasionally to the plans of God. When pains come – such
as financial crunches or a sudden death of someone in
the family - all these moments remind us of our Blessed
Mother; we need to surrender ourselves and our plans to
the mighty hand of the Lord.
So, what must we do in order to collaborate with
God’s plan, as King David and Mary did? Our Blessed
Mother is a real model of simplicity and humility. The life
of our Blessed Mother reminds me of the contrast warned
of by St. Paul: “Who made you so important? What have
you got that was not given to you? And if it was given to
you, why are you boasting as though it were your own?”
(1Corinthins 4:7). In this fourth week of our preparation
for the Nativity of the Lord, the lives of King David and
Mary demonstrate that we can actually approach God and
be followers of Him if we fix our eyes on Him. When He
becomes our priority, when He takes first place, when
He becomes the center of our lives, then we are led to a
deep and profound relationship with Jesus and find our
happiness in Him.
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188 W Willow Street
Heppner, OR
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