Wheatridge renewable energy facility is a 380MW hybrid clean power project planned to be developed in the Morrow County, Oregon, US. It will be one of the biggest power stations in the US to integrate wind, photovoltaic (PV) solar, and battery storage technologies in a single site.
The Wheatridge energy facility is being jointly developed by NextEra Energy Resources and Portland General Electric (PGE).
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Construction on the wind component of the project is expected to be started in 2019, while its commissioning is expected in 2020. Construction of the solar and battery components is planned for 2021.
When fully operational, the Wheatridge energy facility is expected to generate enough clean energy to power 100,000 Oregon households.
The integrated renewable energy project will create 300 jobs during the wind farm construction and up to 175 jobs during construction of the solar and battery storage projects. The combined energy facilities will be operated by ten full-time employees.
Wheatridge renewable energy facility site details and development history
The Wheatridge hybrid renewable energy facility will be developed on a 13,097ha site located just north of Lexington, in the Morrow County, Oregon.
The Wheatridge wind project was initially undertaken by Swaggart Wind Power, a subsidiary of MAP Energy, in 2009. NextEra Energy Resources acquired the development right for the wind project in July 2017.
PGE partnered with NextEra and expanded the scope of the project to include solar power and battery storage facility in the same year.
Wheatridge renewable energy facility make-up
The Wheatridge renewable energy hub will comprise a 300MW wind farm, a 50MW PV solar facility, and a 30MW battery storage facility.
The Wheatridge wind farm will be equipped with 120 turbines from GE Renewable Energy. Each turbine of the onshore wind farm will have a hub height of 90m.
The direct current (DC) electricity generated by the PV solar panels will be converted into alternating current (AC) through on-site inverters.
Part of the solar power will go to the battery system for storage and future use, while the remaining solar power will be directly fed into the power grid.
The onsite battery storage facility will be capable of providing 30MW of continuous power for four hours.
Ownership and partnership details
PGE will own 100MW of the wind project with an estimated investment of $160m, whereas NextEra Energy Resources will own the remaining portions of the hybrid renewable energy hub.
NextEra Energy Resources will be responsible to build and operate the combined clean energy facility.
The electricity generated by the Wheatridge renewable energy facility will be sold to PGE under 30-year power purchase agreements (PPA).
Contractors involved
GE Renewable Energy will supply 120 onshore wind turbines for the Wheatridge renewable energy facility.
