Grant PUD commissioners approve 20-year solar power production contract

EPHRATA — A solar power project that received a construction permit in 2020 is projected to be producing electricity by late 2027. Grant County Public Utility District commissioners approved a power purchasing agreement with Quincy Solar on April 8. 

The facility will generate 120 megawatts of power per year on a site located between the Grant County International Airport and the PUD’s Rocky Ford substation. The PUD will receive all of the power generated by the facility. The contract will be in effect for 20 years. 

The PUD will pay an estimated $70-$72 per kilowatt-hour. That compares to $20- $30 per kilowatt-hour for power produced by the PUD-owned Wanapum and Priest Rapids dams. 

Rich Flanigan, PUD chief customer officer, said the price reflects current market trends. 

“We’ve actually seen prices increase for solar over the last five years (due to) inflation and tariffs that have been put into place,” Flanigan said. “Also, it’s a little more expensive in Washington state, because of the (state-mandated generation goals) and the contracting requirements.” 

Quincy Solar originally applied for a development permit on the project in 2020. 

“That project has been out there for a while,” Flanigan said. “They’ve been looking for some off-taker.”  

Flanigan said the contract will help the PUD meet its state-mandated renewable energy goals, one of which requires the utility to generate at least 15% of its electricity from renewable sources.  

“There are a lot of different things that comply with that,” he said. “Some of it is solar, some of it is wind (generation) if it’s within what they call the Columbia River Basin.” 

The PUD has existing contracts with suppliers to help meet the goal. Some hydropower generation also qualifies, he said. 

“At both Priest Rapids and Wanapum (dams) we’ve put in what we call fish bypass, and that allows us to spill less water for (salmon recovery) purposes. So, we get the benefit of that energy that we technically would be spilling if we hadn’t done that,” Flanigan said.  

The PUD will spend about 20 years upgrading turbines and generators at the two dams, a project that should be completed by the end of the decade. Flanigan said the electricity generated through increased efficiency also counts toward the state-mandated targets.  

The second state mandate requires 80% of the PUD’s electricity to be generated by sources that don’t produce greenhouse gases, he said. Mitigation of some kind is required for the other 20%.  

If the facility doesn’t reach the anticipated capacity, Quincy Solar will have to pay damages until it does, according to the agreement approved by the commissioners.  

The Port of Moses Lake has industrial property in the vicinity, but Port Manager Dan Roach said Monday the Quincy Solar facility is not on port property. It is on property that fits the criteria for solar projects, said Grant County Development Director Jim Anderson-Cook in an earlier interview.  

Companies are looking for property that’s not currently irrigation farmland or otherwise developed but that has been used in the past. Regulations require developers to take access to electrical transmission capacity into account also.