Washington Governor Approves Two Solar Power Projects

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Earlier this week, Washington state governor Jay Inslee (D) approved two solar energy projects being built by Cypress Creek Renewables LLC (Santa Monica, California) in Yakima County, Washington. While the two projects are not the only active solar projects in the state, Washington's nearly $16 billion worth of renewable energy projects are dominated by hydropower.

Cypress Creek's High Top and Ostrea solar farms will be near each other in Yakima County. Each facility will use approximately 350,000 solar panels from First Solar Incorporated (NASDAQ:FSLR) (Tempe, Arizona) to achieve nameplate generating capacities of 80 megawatts (MW). The Ostrea solar farm also will feature a 40-MW battery energy storage system to provide power in times of high demand or when the sun isn't shining.

The two projects are treated separately as they will be using different transmission lines. The High Top facility will use Pacificorp's (Portland, Oregon) Union Gap-to-Midway 230-kilovolt (kV) transmission line, while the Ostrea plant will use Bonneville Power Administration's (Portland) Moxee-to-Midway 115-kV transmission line.

At a signing ceremony held Monday, Cypress Creek's Senior Director of Development Tai Wallace said construction on the two facilities should begin by early 2024, with a target to begin operating in mid-2025. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project Database can learn more by viewing the project reports for the High Top and Ostrea projects.

The High Top and Ostrea projects aren't the only active solar power projects in Yakima County. BayWa AG (Munich, Germany) in the coming weeks plans to begin construction of its Black Rock solar project in the county. Upon completion, which is expected by the end of 2024, the facility will have a nameplate generating capacity of 94 MW. Subscribers can click here for more details.

While Washington does have its fair share of solar and wind projects, the bulk of its spending in the renewables sector is for hydropower projects, which often take years to complete. Examples include the Grant County Public Utility District's (Moses Lake, Washington) generator refurbishments of units 1-10 at the Priest Rapids Hydropower Station near Mattawa. The project entails rewinding the stators on the generators and refurbishing the rotor poles to improve performance and service life. The project kicked off in 2016 and is expected to be completed in late 2025. In addition, the governor controls of all 10 units are being replaced. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the project report.

In the process of wrapping up is the City of Seattle's refurbishment of four units totaling 480 MW at the Boundary Hydropower Station near Metaline Falls. The generator stator cores are being replaced and the runners repaired to extend service life. The project has been underway since mid-2019. Subscribers can click here for more information.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Database can click here for a look at the reports for all of the reports discussed in this article and click here for the related plant profiles.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).