Pachwaywit Fields has the capacity to generate power to serve an equivalent of 40,000 homes.
How customers – and sheep! – are 'conscious consumers' at Pachwáywit Fields solar farm
July 18, 2024
When Pachwaywit Fields began operations 
in April 2023, it set a new record as Oregon's largest solar facility, with its more than 400,000 solar panels. The Gilliam County project, which is operated by AVANGRID, was made possible by participants in PGE’s Green Future Impact program (GFI). GFI is a voluntary renewable energy program that gives businesses and municipalities more ways to meet their sustainability goals while bringing renewable resources to the regional electrical grid.
A year later, AVANGRID and PGE are finding new ways to support nearby communities while maintaining the large solar installation. Local farmers are using sheep to do what they do best: consume vegetation. By grazing on grasses underneath the solar panels, sheep are helping keep the facility safe and clear, without requiring intensive labor or machinery.
Learn more about the partners – both human and ovine – involved in this unique collaboration:
Pachwaywit Fields - Oregon's largest solar facility - was made possible by customers in PGE's Green Future Impact program. A year after it began operations, local farmers are using sheep to do what they do best: consume vegetation. By grazing on grasses underneath the solar panels, sheep are helping keep the facility safe and clear, without requiring intensive labor or machinery.
The largest solar project in the state of Oregon provides clean energy to 17 of PGE’s largest customers.
Sheep find shade and rest under the solar panels. Weeds that grow in this landscape are nutritious for the sheep, and grazing helps keep vegetation neat and controlled.
About Portland General Electric
Portland General Electric (NYSE: POR) is an integrated energy company that generates, transmits and distributes electricity to over 930,000 customers serving an area of 1.9 million Oregonians. For more than 130 years, Portland General Electric (PGE) has powered social progress, delivering safe, affordable, reliable and increasingly clean electricity while working to transform energy systems to meet evolving customer needs. PGE customers have set the standard for prioritizing clean energy with the No. 1 voluntary renewable energy program in the country. PGE is committed to reducing emissions from its retail power supply by 80% by 2030 and 100% by 2040. PGE is recognized by the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index for the company’s commitment to creating a more equal, inclusive workplace. In 2023, PGE employees, retirees and the PGE Foundation donated nearly $4.6 million and volunteered over 23,000 volunteer hours to more than 400 nonprofit organizations. For information, visit portlandgeneral.com/news .
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