Portland General Electric Co. (PGE) plans to procure 311 MW of energy from the Clearwater Wind project, a 775 MW wind site in Montana being developed by NextEra Energy Resources LLC.
Located approximately 65 miles northeast of the Colstrip Generating Station, the wind farm will span Rosebud, Garfield and Custer counties. PGE’s portion of the project is scheduled to be operational by December 31, 2023. It will provide PGE customers with additional power for approximately 125,000 homes.
“PGE’s stake in Clearwater will not only help in our state’s clean energy transition, but also create jobs and tax base in Montana, continuing our commitment to a state we have had an ongoing investment in for over four decades,” says Brett Sims, vice president of strategy, regulation and energy supply at PGE. “By tapping into the most consistent renewable resources across the West, this project, along with other actions resulting from our 2021 RFP, will help ensure we can deliver clean and affordable energy to our customers.”
PGE’s power from Clearwater will be generated by 112 GE wind turbines. The power will be served to PGE customers through existing transmission on the NorthWestern Energy and BPA systems.
PGE will own 208 MW of the project and has also entered into a power purchase agreement with a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources, purchasing an additional 103 MW of power generated by the facility.
A subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources will build and operate the facility. The split ownership and PPA structure will allow efficient deployment of capital from both owners and utilization of tax credits available to wind energy producers, ultimately helping PGE pass savings along to customers.
Construction slated to begin before the end of the year.
