Clearway Energy Group, San Francisco-based clean energy developer and operator, has signed two agreements with the Public Utility District No. 2 of Grant County in Washington for the development of Royal Slope Energy Center.
The agreements include a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement and a 20-year Energy Storage Agreement for a combined capacity of 520 megawatts, consisting of 260 MW of solar generation and 260 MW of battery energy storage.
Grant PUD’s 2024 Integrated Resource Plan outlines the need for new energy and storage capacity to maintain reliability and meet Washington State’s carbon reduction goals. The long-term agreements with Clearway for the Royal Slope Energy Center will help the utility achieve its solar and battery storage targets by 2028 and move closer to fulfilling its power supply requirements through 2030.
The Royal Slope Energy Center will supply enough electricity to power up to 87,000 homes and is expected to start commercial operations by 2027. The project will connect to the Vantage Substation, part of the transmission infrastructure operated by Bonneville Power Administration.
Valerie Wooley, Senior Vice President of Origination at Clearway, said, “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.”
John Mertlich, General Manager and CEO of Grant PUD, said, “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.”
This project is expected to generate approximately $130 million in state and local tax revenue and also create more than 325 construction jobs.