166-MW Oregon Solar Farm Under Construction with U.S.-made Modules
A Connecticut-based energy services company owned by a Spanish utility multinational is assembling 200,000 solar power modules manufactured in the heart of Texas oil and gas country.
To extend the geographical connection even further, those modules are being deployed in Oregon through this year and 2026. Iberdrola-owned Avangrid contracted the modules from SEG Solar for the 166-MW Tower Solar project under construction in Morrow County.
Tower Solar will generate carbon-free electricity into the Portland General Electric power grid in line with contributing to energizing tech giant Meta’s data center operations in the region.
“Domestic partnerships are critical to meeting rising demand, and by leveraging U.S. manufacturing, Avangrid has an opportunity to support local jobs and economic opportunity in states like Texas, while advancing a reliable energy future powered by American-made products,” said Avangrid CEO Jose Antonio Miranda in a statement. “Our work with SEG Solar demonstrates not only our commitment to building out the domestic supply chain, but the benefits of investing in American energy infrastructure. We are proud to see our Tower Solar project move forward with the delivery of these modules.”
Tower Solar is the third collaboration between Avangrid, which traditionally focuses on grid infrastructure and delivery in the eastern U.S., and SEG Solar. The latter is based in Houston and opened its facility to manufacture modules last year.
"This 166-MW project marks the third successful collaboration between Avangrid and SEG Solar, underscoring the strong relationship between the companies,” said Logan Fang, SEG Solar vice president of key accounts. “SEG Solar looks forward to seeing its premium 630-watt high-efficiency Yukon N Series Solar modules installed and operational in the Pacific Northwest."
SEG Solar invested $60 million in the Houston module plant and the U.S. operations and hopes to produce 2 GW of solar capacity per year. The company’s decision to build the manufacturing site in Houston was aided with incentives from the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act.
With the new budget legislation passed by the Trump Administration and Republican Congress ending many of those renewable energy production tax credits, it was not known how the future output of the SEG Solar might be impacted.
Avangrid hopes to complete construction of the Tower Solar farm by 2026. The interconnection into the Portland General Electric grid will be supported by PGE’s Green Future Impact voluntary support from commercial, industrial and municipal customers.
Subscribers to PGE’s GFI program enroll in a bundled renewable energy product and receive the Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) associated with the energy generated from the new facility. PGE’s subscription pricing is designed to avoid cost shifting to non-participating customers.
Construction of the Tower Solar project is expected to employ about 200 workers over the building phase.
About the Author
Rod Walton, EnergyTech Managing Editor
Managing Editor
For EnergyTech editorial inquiries, please contact Managing Editor Rod Walton at [email protected].
Rod Walton has spent 17 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist. He formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.
Walton earned his Bachelors degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma. His career stops include the Moore American, Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise, Wagoner Tribune and Tulsa World.
EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids. The C&I sectors together account for close to 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.
He was named Managing Editor for Microgrid Knowledge and EnergyTech starting July 1, 2023
Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.