1.2 GW Solar Project, Largest Ever In US Moves Ahead

With the United States enjoying its largest ever quarter of solar capacity additions in Q3 of 2024, comes the news of the largest solar project approval ever in the country.  the proposed Sunstone Solar project in Oregon will encompass 1.2 GW of solar and 1.2 GW of storage. The developer, Pine Gate Renewables shared the news of final discretionary approval from the Oregon Energy Facility Siting Council (EFSC)after the state’s evaluation and public engagement process and authorizes project owner Pine Gate Renewables to proceed with the project.

Pine Gate worked extensively with Morrow County and agricultural organizations to create a program that aims to offset the project’s impact on the local agricultural economy. The first-of-its-kind initiative will invest over $1,000 per project acre into a county-managed fund for programs that support the local agricultural economy and improve the long-term viability and resilience of Morrow County’s wheat farms.

Pine Gate is in discussions with customers and local utilities to purchase the electricity and environmental attributes of the energy produced by the project which will interconnect to the Bonneville Power Administration via the Umatilla Electric Cooperative system. The project will begin the engineering and procurement process in early 2025 ahead of phased construction starting in 2026.

Pine Gate owns and operates 17 other solar projects in Oregon. The company acquired the Sunstone Solar project from Gallatin Power Partners in 2022.

Once completed, Sunstone Solar will be one of the largest renewable energy projects in the United States. It’s planned 1.2 gigawatts (GW) of generating capacity via nearly 4 million solar panels and up to 7,200 megawatt hours (MWh) of paired battery energy storage is expected to provide clean, renewable power for up to 800,000 homes.

Construction on the project will include building an interconnection substation, up to six collector substations, up to four operations and maintenance (O&M) facilities, and up to 9.5 miles of 230-kilovolt (kV) overhead transmission lines, in addition to other structural work including roads, fencing, and gates.

Sunstone is authorized to occupy up to approximately 9,442 acres (14.75 sq. miles) of private land zoned for Exclusive Farm Use within an approximately 10,960-acre (17-sq. mile) site, which is about 15 miles northeast of Lexington-Oregon.