Avangrid and Portland General Electric collaborate on Oregon solar project
Published by Oliver Kleinschmidt,
Assistant Editor
Energy Global,
Avangrid, Inc., a leading sustainable energy company and member of the Iberdrola Group, and Portland General Electric (PGE), have announced the signing of a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for Tower Solar, a new 120 MW (166 MW) solar energy project under construction in Morrow County, Oregon, in collaboration with QTS and Meta.
The facility will deliver clean, renewable energy to Portland General Electric’s grid through Green Future Impact (GFI), a voluntary programme designed to help large commercial, industrial, and municipal customers meet their ambitious sustainability and carbon reduction goals through the development of new clean energy facilities in our region.
Subscribers to PGE’s GFI programme enroll in a bundled renewable energy product and receive the Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) associated with the energy generated from the new facility. PGE’s subscription pricing is designed to avoid cost shifting to non-participating customers.
Under PGE’s GFI programme, QTS, a leading data centre solutions provider, is developing a data centre campus to support Meta’s operations in the region that will be supported by renewable energy from Tower Solar, helping to meet Meta’s sustainability and 100% renewable energy goals.
“We are pleased to work closely with some of our largest customers to develop another utility scale solar project in Oregon, the home-base for Avangrid’s onshore renewable energy business,” said Pedro Azagra, Avangrid CEO. “Projects like this are important to furthering the country’s energy independence, and represent our continued investment in the region with new jobs and tax revenue.”
“The Green Future Impact programme allows PGE to partner with our largest customers like QTS to meet their ambitious sustainability goals through local clean energy,” added Brett Greene, PGE Senior Director Clean Energy Origination and Structuring. “Through GFI, our largest customers can fund the development of the renewable resources they need, while supporting green jobs and revenue for Oregon communities.”
“This innovative project highlights QTS's commitment to procuring sustainable energy solutions that help alleviate data centre power generation needs and support our customers’ goals,” commented Tag Greason, QTS Chief Growth Officer. “We are pleased to partner with Avangrid and PGE to bolster these sustainability initiatives.”
Tower Solar will be located just west of Boardman and located on about 900 acres of industrially zoned land owned by the Port of Morrow near the Boardman Airport. The project will utilise more than 200 000 solar panels.
At the peak of construction, Avangrid expects Tower Solar to create more than 200 jobs, the vast majority of which will be sourced from the region. Tower Solar is expected to pay about US$20 million in combined PILOTs (payment in lieu of taxes) and property taxes which will support a variety of public services, including education.
Avangrid is the leading supplier of renewable energy to PGE’s Green Future Impact programme, including from Pachwáywit Fields, Oregon’s largest operating solar facility, and the Daybreak, and Bakeoven solar farms which are currently under construction. Together with Tower Solar, the current combined capacity of the Green Future Impact programme facilities will be 482 MW.
Tower Solar will become Avangrid’s 6th solar facility in Oregon once construction is complete in 2026, and its 17th Oregon power generation project overall. Avangrid currently operates 1.6 GW of wind and solar projects in the state.
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Read the article online at: https://www.energyglobal.com/solar/03122024/avangrid-and-portland-general-electric-collaborate-on-oregon-solar-project/
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