Avangrid Boosts Apple Partnership With new Wind Power Project

Avangrid Renewables and Apple Inc are celebrating a growing renewable energy partnership, recognising the newly-completed Montague Wind Farm in Oregon

Avangrid Renewables, LLC, a subsidiary of AVANGRID, and Apple Inc are celebrating a growing renewable energy partnership, recognising the newly-completed Montague Wind Farm, in Gilliam – Oregon and continued output of the Gala Solar project, in Crook County, Ore. The facilities will supply renewable energy to Apple through power purchase agreements (PPAs).

The Montague Wind achieved commercial operation on October 24, 2019. The facility has a total capacity of 200.85 MW and consists of 56 Vestas turbines. Gala Solar, located outside of Prineville, Ore., consists of approximately 160,000 Sunpower solar panels and has a total capacity of 69.9 MWdc. Gala Solar achieved commercial operation on October 31, 2017. Together, the two projects generate enough electricity to power the equivalent of over 60,000 homes.

“Thanks to Apple’s leadership, these two projects will continue generating and delivering clean electricity for decades to come,” said Alejandro de Hoz, president and CEO of Avangrid Renewables. “We are proud to continue to grow our footprint in the Pacific Northwest and of the enduring economic foundation that these projects provide to rural Oregon communities.”

In addition to the clean energy delivered to Apple, the Montague Wind Farm and Gala Solar provide substantial economic benefits to surrounding communities. Over 400 people were employed in the construction of the two projects, and the projects support approximately 15 full time positions through their operation. The projects will provide an estimated USD 86 million to local communities over their lifetimes in the form of taxes and landowner lease payments.

Avangrid Renewables is headquartered in Portland and has a significant operational footprint in Oregon. The company’s 11 wind and solar generation facilities in the state represent a total investment of approximately USD 2 billion since 2001.

In November 2019, we had reported that Apple, eBay, Samsung, and Sprint had signed a joint agreement to purchase power from a new wind farm owned and developed by Apex Clean Energy in Texas. The transaction—spearheaded by Apple, the largest purchaser in the innovative small-load energy aggregation space—totals approximately 75 megawatts (MW) of clean energy, enough to power the equivalent of 20,000 homes.