Catching the wind: How the Clearwater Wind Project is powering a cleaner, more reliable grid

When people think of clean energy in Oregon, they often picture turbines in the Columbia River Gorge or solar fields that dot the high desert. But now, part of our clean energy future is coming from 600 miles away in Montana.

The new Clearwater Wind Energy Center is Montana’s largest wind farm, and it’s sending clean electricity into PGE’s system. Clearwater adds 311 megawatts of wind power to our mix — enough to power more than 90,000 homes. It helps us deliver more reliable energy, reduce carbon emissions and keep costs more predictable for customers. Thanks in part to Clearwater, we recently reached a big milestone. For the first time ever, PGE generated more than 1 gigawatt of electricity from wind energy. At any given moment, that’s a huge portion of our energy demand!

Wind technician at Clearwater Wind Energy Center on the vast plains of Eastern Montana.

Why Montana?

Oregon has great wind resources, but they tend to follow similar patterns across the state. That means when the wind slows down in one place, it often slows everywhere. Montana’s weather is different. The wind there tends to blow at different times than it does here in Oregon, especially during the colder months. That makes it the perfect complement to our local wind farms. When the breeze dies down here, Clearwater can help pick up the slack. This helps keep power flowing more steadily through the grid, which makes the system more reliable for everyone — no matter the season or time of day. It’s one more way we’re working to build a grid that can stand up to all kinds of weather and serve customers well into the future.

What makes wind energy a good choice?

Wind is clean, renewable and affordable. Since there’s no fuel cost, wind power helps protect against price spikes and makes long-term energy costs more stable.

And because Clearwater connects to our existing transmission lines, we can get that power to our customers efficiently and reliably. We’re always looking for smart ways to bring more clean energy onto the grid while keeping prices as low as possible. Projects like Clearwater help us do just that — expanding our energy mix while keeping customer needs front and center.

A project built on partnership

The Clearwater Wind Energy Center is owned and operated by NextEra Energy Resources, a national leader in renewable energy. We’ve partnered with them to buy all the energy Clearwater produces through a long-term agreement. That means our customers will benefit from this reliable, emissions-free power for years to come.

Working in partnership on projects like this helps us move faster, invest more wisely and reach our clean energy goals in a way that’s both affordable and sustainable.

Sunflowers and transmission lines at Clearwater Wind Energy Center.

Looking ahead

Clearwater is a big win, but it’s only the beginning. Every new wind turbine, solar panel and energy storage system helps make the grid stronger. We’re excited to bring Montana wind to Oregon homes and businesses. And we’re proud to be reaching new milestones on the path to a cleaner, more dependable energy system. One that’s ready for whatever comes next.