Avangrid Renewables has achieved commercial operation at its 200-MW Golden Hills wind farm in Sherman County, Oregon. The facility, which provides enough renewable electricity to Puget Sound Energy (PSE) to power over 60,000 homes annually, began operations on April 29, 2022.
The project supports PSE’s carbon dioxide emission reduction goals while providing additional capacity to serve customers, particularly during winter periods of high electricity demand. The project is Avangrid Renewables’ 7th wind project in Sherman County, 11th in Oregon and 14th in the Pacific Northwest.
“Delivering on this project represents an important milestone for Avangrid Renewables as we continue to build on our robust portfolio of projects in the Pacific Northwest region and advance our position as a leading renewable energy developer in the U.S.,” said Jose Antonio Miranda, CEO and president of onshore at Avangrid Renewables. “We are pleased to work with Puget Sound Energy to help it meet its ambitious goals to reduce emissions and provide clean, reliable power to its customers.”
The power purchase agreement for the project was signed in May 2020 and the addition of the Golden Hills wind project increases PSE’s owned and contracted wind fleet to over 1,150 MW.
“We are excited for this next step and what this partnership with Avangrid Renewables means as we continue to build on our history of championing renewable energy in the Pacific Northwest,” said Ron Roberts, VP of energy supply at PSE. “This new wind project will enable us to expand our efforts toward providing clean, reliable electric service to all of our customers as we work together to create a clean energy future for all.”
The Golden Hills Wind Farm is located near the town of Wasco. The project is made of 41 Vestas V150 4.3-MW turbines and 10 GE 116 2.5 MW turbines built across approximately 28,000 acres of grazing and dry-land wheat farmland held by 37 landowners. Avangrid Renewables started construction on the project in May 2020.
The project created 315 jobs during construction and will employ approximately 13 full-time employees moving forward. It’s expected to deliver over $220 million in landowner payments and local taxes over the lifetime of the project.
Avangrid Renewables acquired the Golden Hills project in September 2017 from the original developer of the project, Orion Wind Resources, a joint venture between Orion Renewable Energy Group and Eolian.
News item from Avangrid Renewables
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