A trend with promise to reshape energy (again) in the West and Pacific Northwest. Promising!
Utility-scale Battery Advisor, Author of The BESS Book, and Energy Access Aficionado
Is central Oregon becoming the new home of the world's largest utility-scale BESS projects? This week Pine Gate Renewables announced state permit approval of the Sunstone project with a 1.2 GW / 7.4 GWh (!) BESS (coupled with 1.2GW of PV) in Pine City, OR. This is not far from the Brookfield Renewable U.S. Speedway project (900MW PV + 500 MW / 2.0 GWh BESS) in Grass Valley, OR (submitted notice of intent). Also in the neighborhood is Savion's Yellow Rosebush project (800MW PV + 800 MW BESS) in Bakeoven, OR (submitted application, but not yet approved). These are part of a massive increase in interconnection applications, with over 116GW of BESS across 250 projects active in the queue! What is driving these mega-facilities in this location? Several factors: *Big HV* The robust HV network, including 500KV mostly operated by Bonneville Power Administration, along with the 500kV HVDC interconnection between The Dalles and Los Angeles *Data Revolution* Eastern Oregon has been a mecca for large data centers, due to many of the same conditions described here. Data centers need massive amounts of power that often can't be supplied by the grid alone, creating big opportunities for PV+BESS facilities *Shifting Tides* Originally the HV links between Oregon and California were built to send cheap and abundant hydro power south to growing California. With the CA solar boom and duck curve, along with hydro curtailment, there have been increasing cases where cheap power can flow north to Oregon! *Regulatory pathway* Although not traditionally perceived as an easy place to permit large projects, Oregon's Energy Facility Siting Council is set up to efficiently review and approve projects. Data source: Interconnection.fyi from publicly available data from publicly-available data from ISOs/RTOS and non-ISO utilities.
