- This hybrid power project combines a wind farm, solar array and battery storage.
- The project will help Oregon comply with a 2021 state law
Last week, government officials and energy company executives gathered in rural Oregon to celebrate the completion of the Wheatridge Renewable Energy Facility. The facility is located in northeast Oregon’s Morrow County, a flat and rural area and combines three renewable sources in one space. It is the fourth and largest project in the United States.
This hybrid power project combines wind farm, solar array and battery storage to save money and provide steadier electricity output. According to the co-author of a series of reports about hybrid renewables at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Mark Bolinger, “Most of these hybrid plants are solar and storage only; what makes (Wheatridge) special is that it includes a wind element as well.”.
NextEra Energy Resources built Wheatridge for use by the utility Portland General Electric. The project will help Oregon comply with a 2021 state law; to reduce emissions from generating electricity by 100 per cent by 2040. It includes a 50-megawatt solar array, a 200-megawatt wind farm, and a 30-megawatt battery, with the battery component lasting about four hours. The three components together can provide for the electricity needs of about 100,000 houses. This hybrid integration allows for power supply round the clock as solar is usually strongest during the day and wind at night. The storage can serve during downtime periods to augment the power supply. Gov. Kate Brown added that the urgency of clean energy projects would not be ignored and said that the impact of clean energy projects will create good-paying jobs.