Last Chance to Visit PSE's Renewable Energy Center Before Season Ends Nov. 30

BELLEVUE, WA – November 27, 2010: Looking for a fun and educational outing during the Thanksgiving holiday break? Consider a visit to Puget Sound Energy’s Renewable Energy Center, set amid Central Washington’s scenic shrub’steppe habitat, to see how giant wind turbines and the Northwest’s largest solar’power array produce electricity.

The visitor center, located at PSE’s Wild Horse Wind and Solar Facility, is about 115 miles east of Seattle, just off Interstate 90 between Ellensburg and Vantage. The center closes for winter on Nov. 30, and reopens next April.

“Wild Horse offers a great combination of science, technology and nature,” said Brian Lenz, manager of government and community relations for PSE. “The visitor center’s displays and interactive kiosks let you learn about renewable energy as well as the area’s history, culture and landscape. And our Wild Horse trails provide breath-taking views of a working wind’ and solar’power operation.”

The Wild Horse Renewable Energy Center has hosted more than 60,000 visitors and 750 tour groups since its opening in April 2008. This year’s visitors hailed from all 50 U.S. states and 72 countries spanning six continents.

The center is open from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily. While the facility’s seasonal closure is not scheduled to begin until Nov. 30, inclement weather can prompt earlier restrictions on public access, so before visiting, call ahead at 509-964-7815. For more information on Wild Horse, go to www.PSE.com/WildHorse. You also can “visit ”Wild Horse during the offseason by going to the visitor center’s Facebook page.

The Wild Horse Wind and Solar Facility was built in late 2006 and expanded in 2009. The operation’s 149 wind turbines - each 351 feet tall from the ground to the tip of a vertical wind blade - can produce up to 273 megawatts of electricity, enough to serve about 80,000 homes. Wild Horse’s 2,723 solar panels, with 500 kilowatts of generating capacity, constitute the largest solar-power installation in the Pacific Northwest.

PSE also owns and operates the 157’MW Hopkins Ridge Wind Facility in Columbia County. The utility’s third and largest Wind-power operation, Phase I of the Lower Snake River Wind Project, is now under construction in Garfield County.

About Puget Sound Energy
Washington state’s oldest local energy utility, Puget Sound Energy serves more than 1 million electric customers and nearly 750,000 natural gas customers in 11 counties. A subsidiary of Puget Energy, PSE meets the energy needs of its customers through incremental, cost’effective energy efficiency, procurement of sustainable energy resources, and far-sighted investment in the energy-delivery infrastructure. PSE employees are dedicated to providing great customer service and delivering energy that is safe, reliable, reasonably priced, and environmentally responsible. For more information, visit www.PSE.com.