Avangrid Renewables: Clean Energy Leaders in Oregon
Guest blog by OEC Business Member Avangrid Renewables,
Every summer, Avangrid Renewables sends several busloads of precious cargo, more than 100 staff members and their children last year, from its headquarters in Portland to the scenic Columbia River Gorge to spend the day at the Klondike Wind Plant.
The passion to develop renewable energy is something Avangrid Renewables employees are extremely proud to share with their kids.
As one of the largest wind energy companies in the U.S., with renewable facilities in 22 states, Avangrid Renewables is proud to call Portland home, investing in Oregon’s rural communities and leading the transformation to a competitive, clean energy future.
The field trip includes tours of the training nacelle (the school bus-sized housing for the gearbox, normally at the very top of a tower) and laydown yard, safety equipment demonstrations, and a presentation from representatives of Blue Mountain Wildlife, who bring live birds of prey with them and teach the children about avian life in the nearby area.
“‘Take Your Kids to Klondike Day’ is one of our longest-running company traditions,” said Staci Schwartz, Vice President of Human Resources for Avangrid Renewables. “It’s a fun, educational way for kids to learn more about our industry and about what their parents do every day. It also gives office staff a chance to get out from behind our desks and into the field, to learn more about how our Operations teams maintains our turbines and gets everyone home safely each day.”
The Klondike Wind Power Developments encompass four individual wind plants: Klondike I, Klondike II, Klondike III and Klondike IIIa, located in central Oregon on private ranches and farms. The Klondikes’ carbon dioxide emissions offset on behalf of its customers each year is equivalent to removing more than 182,000 cars from the road.
About Avangrid Renewables
Avangrid Renewables owns and operates seven wind farms in Oregon, with another slated to start construction later this year, as well as a modern gas generation facility in Southern Oregon which helps smoothly deliver wind energy to customers up and down the west coast.
They’ll soon have two new Oregon solar power plants expected to be online by early next year, which will bring total energy generation in Oregon to nearly 1800 MW’s, enough capacity to power more than half a million homes. Avangrid Renewables also pays Oregon’s rural communities more than $15 million dollars in taxes and landowner lease payments on an annual basis. Avangrid Renewables continues to expand its national footprint too, as they’ll have clean energy facilities in 22 states by the end of 2017.
Learn more about Avangrid Renewables:
Catch up with OEC’s Emerging Leaders Board (events, summer getaways, and more!)
0
Honoring Black Environmental Leadership
0
Oregon Environmental Council: Andrea Durbin to transition to City of Portland leadership
0
Call on Oregon leaders to move forward with Clean Energy Jobs
0
Welcome to our new Emerging Leaders!
0
Building advocacy with our Emerging Leaders
0
Gov. Brown’s leadership to reach international stage
0