Wind Power

Portland GE agrees to build a $400 million wind energy plant

Portland GE agrees to build a $400 million wind energy plant
(Clearwater Wind is being built on parts of three eastern Montana counties.)

Portland General Electric and NextEra Energy Resources, a unit of NextEra Energy, agreed to build a 311 MW wind energy facility, which will be part of the larger Clearwater Wind development in eastern Montana. 

PGE will own 208 MW of the 311 MW being acquired in these agreements, with an investment of around $415 million. Units of NextEra Energy Resources will own the remaining 103 MW and sell their portion of the output to PGE under a 30-year purchased power agreement (PPA). 

NextEra Energy Resources units would design, build and operate the facility.

The agreements are subject to a prudency review by Oregon state regulators, and are subject to approval by NextEra Energy. The project has an estimated in-service date of Dec. 31, 2023.

Clearwater Wind is planned to include 750 MW of capacity built across three Montana counties. The project web site says that General Electric wind turbines will be used.

The wind energy deal is part of PGE’s 2021 request for proposals, which led a shortlist of bidders over the summer. PGE said it continues to negotiate with remaining bidders, and expects to finalize deals by late this year or early in 2023. 

In late September, the two companies opened one of the first utility-scale energy facilities in to co-locate wind, solar and battery storage. The Wheatridge Renewable Energy Facilities includes 300 MW of wind, 50 MW of solar and 30 MW of battery storage.

Days earlier, a demolition team knocked down the 656-foot-tall smokestack and boiler at the utility’s closed Boardman coal plant. The 40-year-old plant closed in 2020, two decades ahead of schedule, and was Oregon’s last coal-fired power plant.  

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