Avangrid Renewables, Puget Sound Energy in Oregon wind power deal | By Pete Danko, Staff Reporter | Portland Business Journal | Aug 18, 2020 | www.bizjournals.com
Avangrid Renewables, fresh off completing an Oregon wind farm that will deliver power to Apple Inc., is at work on another project in the state, the Portland-based company announced Tuesday.
The 200-megawatt Golden Hills project in Sherman County is supported by a 20-year power purchase agreement with Puget Sound Energy.
Avangrid Renewables acquired the project in 2017, eight years after it was first permitted by Oregon regulators. The deal with PSE, a Bellevue-based investor-owned utility, set construction in motion in June.
The project is expected to go online late next year, with annual production matching the energy use of about 60,000 households, the companies said.
The Avangrid Renewables projects, along with Portland General Electric’s under-construction Wheatridge wind farm with NextEra Energy Resources, represent a noticeable uptick in wind activity in Oregon after a lull through much of the 2010s. A couple of additional wind possibilities are in the review process, as well, although developers are more and more placing their bets on solar projects.
These big renewable energy projects can linger for years, as Golden Hills did, waiting for an energy off-taker to emerge. But climate action, cost trends and the chance to maximize the value of federal incentives are spurring activity these days. A PacifiCorp request for proposals issued last month and an expected solicitation from PGE could provide opportunities for projects in the pipeline, including ones that pair solar with battery-energy storage.
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2020/08/19/avangrid-renewables-building-oregon-wind-farm-after-deal-with-puget-sound-energy/