Oregon Public Broadcasting

The state of Oregon may soon be home to the world's biggest wind farm, at least by one measure.

The state's Department of Energy announced Friday it approved siting a huge wind farm in Gilliam and Morrow counties. Central Oregon correspondent Ethan Lindsey reports.

According to its California owners, the Shepherds Flat Wind Farm could produce 909 megawatts - that's enough to power about 200,000 homes a year.

The new state-approved project would be about five miles southeast of Arlington, near the Columbia River gorge.

The project still faces some challenges - Northwest agencies say they can only handle about 1500 more megawatts of power on today's grid.

Washington and Oregon say they plan on adding close to 4500 megawatts of wind power in the coming years.

And even if the Shepherds Flat Wind Farm does it get built, it may not be the world's largest wind farm for long.

Oil magnate T. Boone Pickens just this month announced a $10 billion plan for a 4000 megawatt farm in Texas. That could power a city the size of San Diego.