By Kari Williamson

The 104.4 MW Palouse Wind project in Whitman County, WA, will consist 58 Vestas V100 1.8 MW wind turbines, while the 34.2 MW Bull Hill wind power plant in Hancock County, ME, will feature 19 of the V100 1.8 MW wind turbines.

The contracts for both projects include delivery and commissioning along with a 10-year service and maintenance agreement.

Deliveries for Palouse Wind and Bull Hill are scheduled for mid-2012, and both wind farms are expected to be commissioned in late 2012.

“We are very pleased to be working with a new customer, First Wind, to build two US energy projects,” says Martha Wyrsch, President of Vestas-American Wind Technology, Inc. “The V100-1.8 MW is proven technology that’s well-designed for wind speeds of this area.”

The Palouse Wind contract includes Vestas’ latest service programme – Active Output Management (AOM) 5000 – which has an energy-based guarantee to ensure the wind turbines are operational when the wind is blowing.

The Bull Hill service agreement includes the AOM 4000 maintenance programme, said to guarantee wind turbine availability.