Portland General Electric procures 311 megawatts from new Clearwater wind project in Montana

Project will deliver clean electricity to PGE’s customers in Oregon by 2024

Oct. 25, 2022

Portland, Ore. — Portland General Electric Company (NYSE: POR) today announced plans to procure 311 megawatts of energy from the Clearwater Wind project, a 775-megawatt wind site in Montana being developed by NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, a subsidiary of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE).

Located approximately 65 miles northeast of the Colstrip Generating Station, the wind farm will span Rosebud, Garfield and Custer counties in Montana. Portland General Electric’s (PGE) portion of the Clearwater Wind project is scheduled to be operational by December 31, 2023 and will provide PGE customers with additional power for approximately 125,000 homes.

“PGE’s stake in Clearwater will not only help in our state’s clean energy transition, but also create jobs and tax base in Montana, continuing our commitment to a state we have had an ongoing investment in for over four decades,” said Brett Sims, Vice President of Strategy, Regulation & Energy Supply at PGE. “By tapping into the most consistent renewable resources across the West, this project, along with other actions resulting from our 2021 RFP, will help ensure we can deliver clean and affordable energy to our customers.”

Project details

PGE’s power from Clearwater will be generated by 112 General Electric wind turbines. Clearwater was a top performing resource in PGE’s 2021 RFP, and the Montana wind resource is complementary to local generation regions in Oregon, such as the Columbia Gorge. The Clearwater project will deliver higher levels of production during the winter and summer, allowing PGE to serve its Oregon customers reliable clean energy and capture the benefits of regional diversity.

The power will be served to PGE customers through existing transmission on the NorthWestern Energy and BPA systems.

The development of Clearwater Wind project will provide up to 350 jobs during construction, and 20 full-time employees will operate the facility once it is commissioned for service. Puget Sound Energy contracted an initial phase of Clearwater’s 775 megawatt capacity, which is already under construction and expected to come online later this year.

Ownership and construction

The facility will serve 311 megawatts of wind generation to PGE’s customers in Oregon beginning in 2024, with construction slated to begin in 2022. PGE will own 208 megawatts of the project and has also entered into a power purchase agreement (PPA) with a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources, purchasing an additional 103 megawatts of power generated by the facility.

A subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources will build and operate the facility. The split ownership and PPA structure will allow efficient deployment of capital from both owners and utilization of tax credits available to wind energy producers, ultimately helping PGE pass savings along to customers.

Clearwater Wind Project Fast Facts PGE

About Portland General Electric Company
Portland General Electric (NYSE: POR) is a fully integrated energy company based in Portland, Oregon. The company serves approximately 900,000 customers with a service area population of 2 million Oregonians in 51 cities. PGE owns 16 generation plants across Oregon and other Northwestern states and maintains and operates 14 public parks and recreation areas. For more than 130 years, PGE has powered the advancement of society, delivering safe, affordable, and reliable energy to Oregonians. PGE and its approximately 3,000 employees are working with customers to build a clean energy future. Together with its customers, PGE has the No. 1 voluntary renewable energy program in the U.S. PGE is committed to achieving at least an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from power served to customers by 2030 and 100% reduction by 2040. In 2021, PGE became the first U.S. utility to join The Climate Pledge. For the ninth year in a row PGE achieved a perfect score on the 2021 Human Rights Campaign Foundation's Corporate Equality Index, a national benchmarking survey and report on corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ workplace equality. In 2021, PGE, employees, retirees, and the PGE Foundation donated $4.8 million and volunteered 15,760 hours with more than 300 nonprofits across Oregon. For more information visit PortlandGeneral.com/news.

For more information contact:

PGE Communications Team

503-464-2067

pgecommunications@pgn.com