PGE, NextEra Energy plan 380-MW renewables hub in Oregon

Portland General Electric Company (NYSE:POR), or PGE, and NextEra Energy Resources LLC yesterday unveiled plans to jointly build a hybrid renewables complex in Oregon combining wind, solar and battery storage capacity.

The so-called Wheatridge Renewable Energy Facility will be installed north of Lexington, Morrow County, and will consist of 300 MW of wind, 50 MW of solar and 30 MW of energy storage capacity. The complex will be the first one in North America integrating the three technologies, PGE said in a press release.

The project was initially developed by an affiliate of MAP Energy with a wind component only and was purchased by NextEra Energy Resources in 2017. The addition of solar and battery storage capacity was included following NextEra’s tie-up with PGE. The partners have agreed for PGE to own 100 MW of the wind project, while a unit of NextEra Energy Resources will own the rest and sell the plant’s output to PGE under 30-year power purchase agreements (PPAs). PGE’s ownership will cost it some USD 160 million (EUR 142m), the company estimates.

The NextEra Energy Resources' subsidiary will take care of building and operating the combined facility.

The planned wind farm will use 120 turbines by GE Renewable Energy and will be switched on by end-2020 so as to qualify for 100% of the federal government’s production tax credit. Construction of the solar and battery components, meanwhile, is scheduled for 2021. The suppliers for the solar farm and battery storage installation are still to be determined.

During the construction phase, the Wheatridge project will open up to 300 jobs on the wind site and up to 175 jobs on the solar and storage sites.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.888)

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