Oregon Utility Signs on to Back 120 MW Solar Development

Avangrid Inc. and Portland General Electric have signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) for Tower Solar, a new 120 MW AC solar energy project now under construction in Morrow County, Ore., in collaboration with QTS and Meta.

The facility will deliver energy to Portland General Electric’s grid through Green Future Impact (GFI), a voluntary program designed to help large commercial, industrial and municipal customers meet their sustainability and carbon reduction goals through the development of new clean energy facilities.

Subscribers to PGE’s GFI program 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 program, QTS, a data center solutions provider, is developing a data center campus to support Meta’s operations in the region that will be supported by energy from Tower Solar, helping to meet Meta’s sustainability and 100% renewable energy goals.

“The Green Future Impact program allows PGE to partner with our largest customers like QTS to meet their ambitious sustainability goals through local clean energy,” says PGE’s Brett Greene. “Through GFI, our largest customers can fund the development of the renewable resources they need while supporting green jobs and revenue for Oregon communities.”

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 utilize 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 $20 million in combined PILOTs (payment in lieu of taxes) and property taxes.

Avangrid is the leading supplier of renewable energy to PGE’s Green Future Impact program, 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 program facilities will be 482 MW AC.

Tower Solar will become Avangrid’s sixth solar facility in Oregon once construction is complete in 2026.

Original Source: https://solarindustrymag.com/oregon-utility-signs-on-to-back-120-mw-solar-development