California-based Clearway Energy Group said it has signed a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA), along with a 20-year deal for energy storage output, with a utility organization in Washington state.
The deal announced November 4 between Clearway and Public Utility District No. 2 (Grant PUD) of Grant County, Washington, is for power from the Royal Slope Energy Center, a 260-MW solar and 260-MW energy storage facility. Royal Slope is expected to reach commercial operation by the end of 2027.
Royal Slope is a part of Clearway’s Washington portfolio, which includes the 160-MW Rattlesnake Flat wind farm in Adams County, and the 137-MW Tuolumne Wind farm in Klickitat County.
“This partnership with Grant PUD reflects our shared vision to bring reliability and near-term power supply to regions experiencing significant load growth from data centers and industrial demand,” said Valerie Wooley, senior vice president of Origination at Clearway. “Royal Slope is a long-term investment in Washington’s energy independence and economic vitality.”
Grant PUD’s 2024 Integrated Resource Plan identified near-term energy and capacity needs to meet the utility’s reliability requirements and the State of Washington’s carbon goals. The PPA, along with the energy storage and services provided by Clearway at from the Royal Slope Energy Center will support Grant PUD in meeting its near-term targets for both solar and battery storage by 2028. The agreements also move the utility closer to meeting its power-acquisition needs through 2030.
“We are excited to have this partnership with Clearway,” said John Mertlich, general manager and CEO of Grant PUD. “The Royal Slope Energy Center, with its solar generation and storage capacity to match, will help provide for the increasing power demands of our customers and meet our evolving resource adequacy requirements.”
The Royal Slope Energy Center is sited on private, unincorporated land in Grant County. It will interconnect via the Vantage Substation, leveraging transmission infrastructure operated by Bonneville Power Administration. Officials said the project is expected to generate an estimated $130 million in state and local taxes. About 325 jobs are expected to be created during the project’s construction.
—Darrell Proctor is a senior editor for POWER.
