Puget Sound Energy (PSE) announced two large projects in Washington that will create enough clean energy to power thousands of homes in our state.
Appaloosa Solar Project
The company says it’s building a utility-scale solar facility in Garfield County.
It will be built within the existing PSE Lower Snake River Wind Facility.
PSE says it will be capable of generating enough to power more than 30,000 homes.
It will also create employment opportunities for approximately 300 workers during construction.
The project will be done by Qcells USA.
Construction is scheduled to begin in 2025 with a commercial operation date expected in December of 2026.
“We’re excited to bring clean, reliable utility-scale solar energy to our customers, especially during peak summer months when cooling demand is high,” said Ron Roberts, senior vice president of Energy Resources. “This project demonstrates our commitment to a low-carbon future and advances our efforts to meet Washington state’s ambitious clean energy goals.”
Greenwater Project
The second project is a Battery energy storage system that will be built near Sumner.
Battery storage systems are designed to store excess energy generated by wind and solar farms, and then release it during times that it is in high demand.
Energy from the facility will be fed to the White River Substation and then distributed onto the grid.
PSE says the goal is to avoid the need for additional generation infrastructure and provide a more reliable and efficient energy supply to customers.
The purchase agreement for the system is with BrightNight, who will design and install it using lithium-ion batteries.
The system will help PSE to serve around 70,000 residential customers during the winter and 100,000 during the summer.
“We’re investing in technologies like battery storage that can support a continuous and reliable supply of clean energy to our customers,” said Craig Pospisil, PSE vice president of Business Development and M&A. “Battery storage projects like Greenwater help us harness the renewable energy we generate while ensuring the grid remains reliable during extreme temperatures and times of peak demand.”
The project is scheduled to be up and running by mid-2027.
The projects will help PSE meet the state’s Clean Energy Transformation Act (CETA) targets.
Since the passage of CETA in 2019, PSE has added more than 3,800 megawatts of renewable energy resources to its resource mix.