Portland General Electric (PGE) has started commercial power generation at the Wheatridge hybrid facility in Eastern Oregon, with the 300MW wind component coming online.
The project will also feature 50MW of solar and 30MW battery storage, both of which will be operational by the end of next year.
Wheatridge is a joint project of PGE and a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources.
Located just northeast of Lexington in Morrow County, Oregon, the wind facility generates power using 120 turbines manufactured by GE Renewable Energy.
Wheatridge uses a mix of 2.3MW and 2.5MW machines.
Final selection of the specific equipment to be used at the associated solar farm and battery storage facility is still pending.
The project’s early development work as a wind farm was performed by Swaggart Wind Power an affiliate of MAP Energy.
NextEra Energy Resources purchased the development rights and together with PGE expanded the project scope to include solar generation and battery storage.
Up to 300 jobs were created at Wheatridge during construction of the wind farm.
A maximum of 175 workers will be employed to build the solar and storage sites.
Approximately 10 full-time employees will operate the combined facilities once all three components are fully commissioned for service.
This new facility marks a milestone in Oregon’s acceleration to a clean energy future and will play an important role in achieving PGE’s recently established company wide goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040.
PGE president and CEO Maria Pope said: “Customers want and expect cleaner, greener energy sources.
“This is an exciting step toward completion of this important resource and adds to our growing wind generation portfolio.
“We deeply appreciate the partnerships that make the Wheatridge project possible, with NextEra and with the transmission services teams at the Bonneville Power Administration and Umatilla Electric Cooperative.”
Wheatridge will be one of the first large-scale energy facilities in the United States to combine wind, solar and battery storage resources at a single location.
The 300MW wind farm is now complete and delivering power to PGE customers.
The 50MW solar and 30MW battery facilities will be completed by the end of 2021.
US Senator Ron Wyden said: “An important community effort like Wheatridge needs teamwork, and I’m happy to have teamed up over the years with PGE, Umatilla Electric, Morrow County, farmers like Jerry Rietmann and all the local officials to help this exciting Eastern Oregon project get over any hurdles.
“The latest good news about the wind farm part of this innovative renewable energy project will have huge benefits when it comes both to facing the climate crisis and generating good rural jobs.”
With the addition of Wheatridge’s wind farm, PGE’s wind generation portfolio now totals more than 1GW nameplate capacity, available from five owned or contracted wind farms in the Northwest – typically generating enough power to serve the equivalent of 340,000 homes.
When complete, the solar and battery storage facilities will be among the largest in Oregon.