West Linn Waterfront Redevelopment

Over a century ago, the Station A Power Plant began generating power at the Willamette Falls, the home of the first long-distance transmission of electricity in the United States. 

Station A was replaced by Station B in 1895, later renamed after T.W. Sullivan, this certified low-impact hydro facility is the third-oldest hydropower plant in the country. As PGE’s oldest generation facility, it powers roughly 11,000 homes every year. Paper mills have operated on PGE’s property along the West Linn side of the Willamette Falls for over a century.  

In recent years, PGE has engaged with Tribes, stakeholders and community members about our property. 

• 2017: The City of West Linn began master planning for the Willamette River waterfront. The West Linn Paper Co. closed. PGE took control of and began assessing paper mill building conditions, including a complex known as Mill A that had not been used or maintained in 30+ years.

• 2019: The Willamette Falls Paper Company restarted the paper mill as PGE partnered with the City to learn the community’s priorities, vision and values for the future of PGE’s property — about 100 acres — in the middle of this waterfront. Our learnings from feedback is in our comprehensive report.

• 2021: PGE shared information about Mill A conditions and got input about historic preservation priorities as PGE anticipated addressing structural, environmental and biological hazards. This comprehensive report  captures our process and learnings. 

• 2022: PGE decided for the sake of safety and to protect the environment, it would begin planning for removal of Mill A’s superstructure. We began working with stakeholders on historic mitigation plans. 

• 2023: An agreement was reached between the Oregon Historic Preservation Office and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), with PGE as the Licensee, for how PGE will preserve Mill A’s history, based on feedback from our 2021 engagement.  In early summer, work will begin to remove Mill A’s superstructure. We will also prepare to clean a portion of the beach on our property. 

• 2023: PGE and the Willamette Falls Trust enter a one-year feasibility and cooperation agreement that will enable the Trust to assess a portion of PGE’s Island property, outside of federally regulated boundaries, for a potential future project. A summary of the agreement is here .  

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