Money Blows in to a Patch of Oregon Known for Its Unrelenting Winds

In this sparsely populated landscape south of the Columbia River Gorge, annual checks for that amount are local residents’ share of a windfall brought by the growing wind energ industry.

In an area otherwise dominated by wheat farms, hundreds of 300-foot wind turbines now generate electricity and cash.
"Wind is the only thing that is going to save rural Oregon," said Judge Gary Thompson of Sherman County Court, "especially since all the timber is gone and the sawmills and all that are closing down. I think what it is is a breath of fresh air."

By LEE VAN DER VOO

Full Story: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/31/us/31wind.html?_r=1&ref=windpower

(Many thanks to Beth Berlin for bringing this story to our attention.)