Portland General Electric (PGE) has officially announced the completion of three new utility-scale battery energy storage systems so to conceive 475 megawatts (MW) and more than 1.9 gigawatt hours (GWh) of dispatchable capacity for Portland metro region.
According to certain reports, when leveraged in conjunction, these facilities will effectively provide power to more than 300,000 homes for a minimum four hours during peak demand or when power is limited due to weather or unexpected interruptions, thus delivering flexibility and backup capacity critical in the face of a significant power outage.
More on that would reveal how these lithium-ion battery energy storage facilities are strategically located at key substations in North Portland, Troutdale and Hillsboro. They are further integrated into PGE’s system to better align the production and consumption of electricity, something which really goes the distance to reduce strain on the grid.
For better understanding, battery storage can significantly reduce PGE’s reliance on expensive short-term electricity purchases, and by doing so, it can stabilize energy costs, limit price volatility for customers, as well as support the integration of intermittent sources like wind and solar.
Anyway, markedly enough, the newly operational facilities were successfully developed and awarded to Eolian, L.P. (Eolian) through Portland General Electric’s 2021 All-Source Request for Proposals (RFP) process.
“Battery energy storage systems sited at major substations radically improve the use of existing high voltage transmission lines, avoiding expensive or challenging new grid upgrades and providing a low-cost load growth solution through existing infrastructure,” said Aaron Zubaty, CEO of Eolian.
Talk about these facilities on a slightly deeper level, we begin from Seaside, which is understood to be a 200 MW PGE-owned facility located in North Portland under a fixed-cost Build-Transfer Agreement (BTA). Once the agreement was finalized, PGE ramped up proceedings to finally begin its commercial operation in July 2025.
The next facility in line is Sundial. This one is essentially a 200 MW facility in Troutdale. Developed by Eolian and operated by NextEra Energy Resources, the stated system is governed by a 20-year storage capacity agreement with PGE. As for its commercial operation, it began back in December of 2024.
Moving on to our third proponent, it is known by the name of Constable. In essence, Constable is a 75 MW PGE-owned facility located in Hillsboro and constructed for PGE under an engineering, procurement and construction agreement with Mortenson. The facility achieved commercial operation in December 2024.
Apart from the given three facilities, PGE also confirmed, in 2024, the completion of its 17 MW Coffee Creek Battery Storage system near Wilson.
Founded in 1889, Portland General Electric’s rise up the ranks stems from supplying safe, affordable, reliable and increasingly clean electricity, while simultaneously striving to transform energy systems and meet evolving customer needs. The company’s excellence in what it does can also be understood once you consider it serves more than 950,000 customers at the moment.
Not just that, PGE was also ranked as the No. 1 utility in 2024 Forrester U.S. Customer Experience Index.
“Batteries play an important role in helping PGE build a more flexible, reliable and diverse generation portfolio,” said Darrington Outama, Senior Director of Energy Supply at Portland General Electric. “In addition to providing power during peak hours every day, batteries enhance our ability to respond to sudden changes in the grid and help keep energy supply and demand balanced. For customers, that means more stable and reliable power, all at the lowest possible cost.”
