Application for 2,717 acre solar facility submitted

Bakeoven Solar LLC, a subsidiary of Avangrid Renewables LLC, submitted an application for site certificate (ASC) to the Oregon Department of Energy to construct and operate the Bakeoven Solar Project. The proposed facility would be a solar photovoltaic energy generation facility with a peak generating capacity of 303 megawatts that would occupy up to 2,717 acres of private land in Wasco County.

The Application reads, “Bakeoven Solar, LLC proposes to construct and operate a solar energy generation facility and related or supporting facilities in Wasco County, Oregon. 

The Bakeoven Solar Project (Facility) will be a photovoltaic (PV) solar energy facility with a nominal and average generating capacity of 303 megawatts (MW), as defined in Oregon Revised Statute (ORS) 469.300(4)(c). The Facility will interconnect to the existing 230-kilovolt (kV) Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) Big Eddy to Redmond transmission line at the existing BPA Maupin Interconnection Substation (Maupin Substation). Exhibit C, Figure C-2 provides an overview of the proposed Facility. This Facility will generate clean, renewable energy for local and regional energy markets and further Oregon’s response to climate change and transition to a clean energy future. As articulated in Governor Brown’s recent Climate Change Agenda, “climate change impacts every Oregonian, but our rural communities, our low-income communities, communities of color, and Tribes are especially vulnerable. Climate change also poses serious risks for many of Oregon’s natural resource-based industries. Meeting the challenge of climate change and growing our economy are not mutually exclusive goals: we must do both” (State of Oregon 2018). The Facility can meet this challenge by reducing carbon emissions in the utility sector and by simulating local economic growth through temporary construction jobs and long-term tax payment to Wasco County.” 

Avangrid Renewables, LLC (Avangrid), have previous experience in constructing and operating renewable generation facilities. Avangrid, headquartered in Portland, Oregon, is one of the largest operators of wind energy projects in the United States. It owns and operates more than 6,000 megawatts (MW) of utility-scale renewable energy production. Avangrid has successfully operated renewable energy projects in Oregon since 2001, and now owns more than 1,483 MW of utility-scale wind and solar generation in the state.

Public Notice on the Proposed Order: https://www.oregon.gov/energy/facilities-safety/facilities/Facilities%20library/2020-03-20-BSP-ASC-PO-Public-Notice.pdf 

Oregon Department of Energy, Energy Siting Division website for the Bakeoven Solar Project: