PORTLAND, Ore., Dec. 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Portland General
Electric Company (NYSE: POR) today announced the start of
commercial power generation at the Wheatridge Renewable Energy
Facility in Eastern Oregon.
Wheatridge is a joint project of PGE and a subsidiary of NextEra
Energy Resources, LLC. This ground-breaking 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.
"Customers want and expect cleaner, greener energy sources,"
said Maria Pope, PGE president and
CEO. "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 300-megawatt wind farm is now complete and delivering
power to PGE customers. The 50-megawatt solar and 30-megawatt
battery facilities will be completed by the end of 2021.
"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,"
U.S. Senator Ron Wyden said. "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 1,000 megawatts (one
gigawatt) 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.
"Projects like Wheatridge Energy Facility provide family-wage
jobs, tax revenue for our schools and services and strengthen
Morrow County's position in the
region's clean energy economy," said Don
Russell, Morrow County
commissioner. "We're pleased to play a part in providing clean
energy to Oregonians."
Project details
Located just northeast of Lexington in Morrow
County, Oregon, Wheatridge's wind farm generates power using
120 wind turbines manufactured by GE Renewable Energy, Inc. The
facility uses a mix of 2.3-megawatt and 2.5-megawatt machines.
Final selection of the specific equipment to be used at the
associated solar farm and battery storage facility is still
pending.
Up to 300 jobs were created at Wheatridge during construction of
the wind farm; up to 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.
"Our long-term partnership with PGE has created family-wage jobs
in our community and brought clean-energy innovations like the
Wheatridge Energy Facility," said Ryan
Neal, general manager of the Port of Morrow. "This makes our region more
attractive, competitive and desirable for residents and
business."
Ownership and construction
The project's early development work as a wind farm was
performed by Swaggart Wind Power, LLC, 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.
Power from the project will reach PGE customers in Portland and the north Willamette Valley via a
new transmission line, constructed by Umatilla Electric
Cooperative, that connects Wheatridge locally with the Bonneville
Power Administration's regional high-voltage grid.
PGE now owns 100 megawatts of the wind project. A subsidiary of
NextEra Energy Resources owns the balance of the project and will
sell its output to PGE under 30-year power purchase agreements. The
NextEra Energy Resources' subsidiary is building and will operate
the combined facility.
PGE expects to invest approximately $155
million for its owned portion of the project.
About Portland General Electric Company
Portland
General Electric (NYSE: POR) is a fully integrated energy company
based in Portland, Oregon, with
operations across the state. The company serves approximately
900,000 customers with a service area population of 2 million
Oregonians in 51 cities. PGE has 16 generation plants in five
Oregon counties, and maintains and
operates 14 public parks and recreation areas. For over 130 years,
PGE has delivered safe, affordable and reliable energy to
Oregonians. Together with its customers, PGE has the No. 1
voluntary renewable energy program in the U.S. PGE and its 3,000
employees are working with customers to build a clean energy
future. In 2019, PGE, employees, retirees and the PGE Foundation
donated $4.3 million and volunteered
32,900 hours with more than 700 nonprofits across Oregon. For more information visit
portlandgeneral.com/news.
Safe Harbor Statement:
Statements in this
news release that relate to future plans, objectives, expectations,
performance, events and the like may constitute "forward-looking
statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended. Forward-looking statements made in this press release
include statements regarding the impact of the Wheatridge project
on power supply costs, emissions reductions and grid reliability,
Portland General Electric's energy strategy for future periods, the
implementation and outcome that strategy, and the acquisition of
additional resources to meet retail customer demand as well as
other statements containing words such as "anticipates,"
"believes," "intends," "estimates," "promises," "expects,"
"should," "conditioned upon," and similar expressions. Investors
are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are subject
to risks and uncertainties, including failure to complete capital
projects on schedule or within budget, or the abandonment of
capital projects; changes in capital market conditions, which could
affect the availability and cost of capital and result in delay or
cancellation of capital projects; the outcome of various legal and
regulatory proceedings; general economic and financial market
conditions; and the cost and availability of services, products and
technology. As a result, actual results may differ materially from
those projected in the forward-looking statements. All
forward-looking statements included in this news release are based
on information available to the company on the date hereof and such
statements speak only as of the date hereof. The company expressly
disclaims any current intention to update publicly any
forward-looking statement after the distribution of this release,
whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in
assumptions or otherwise. Prospective investors should also review
the risks, assumptions and uncertainties listed in the company's
most recent annual report on form 10-K and in other documents that
we file with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission,
including management's discussion and analysis of financial
condition and results of operations and the risks described therein
from time to time.
Source: Portland General Company
CONTACTS:
Steve Corson, Portland General
Electric Company
503-464-8444 or Steven.Corson@pgn.com
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SOURCE Portland General Company