PORTLAND, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Portland General Electric Company (NYSE: POR) today announced that its Port Westward Unit 2 plant, a 220-megawatt natural gas-fired power plant located near Clatskanie, Ore., went into service on Dec. 30, 2014 and is now available to generate electricity for PGE customers. The new plant is a highly efficient facility designed for maximum flexibility to help meet real-time fluctuations in customer demand and integrate renewable resources.
“With the growing amount of variable renewable power coming online, this type of flexible resource is essential in helping us continue to provide reliable service to our customers in an increasingly complex environment,” said Jim Piro, PGE’s president and CEO.
The plant is comprised of 12 reciprocating engines supplied by Wärtsilä North America that are designed to be highly efficient, flexible and responsive. The 25,000-horsepower 50SG engines are the first of their size in the country to run entirely on natural gas.
“Port Westward Unit 2’s advanced technology and unique configuration allows PGE to ramp up the plant to full load in less than 10 minutes,” said Rick Tetzloff, PGE’s project manager for Port Westward Unit 2. “This flexibility allows us to adjust quickly when renewable energy — like wind and solar — rise and fall with natural variability. And it also means that on peak demand days, our customers benefit from increased reliability.”
Port Westward Unit 2 serves as an important component of the company’s diversified portfolio of energy resources, complementing the new 267-megawatt Tucannon River Wind Farm brought online on Dec. 15, 2014.
The new plant is adjacent to PGE’s existing natural gas-fired Port Westward and Beaver plants in Columbia County, Ore. Construction, which began in May 2013, created more than 400 jobs. The plant was completed ahead of schedule and on budget under fixed-price contracts, with final construction costs expected to be approximately $300 million, excluding AFDC.
Black & Veatch and Oregon-based Harder Mechanical Contractors, Inc., in a contractual joint venture, managed the design and construction of the project. Eleven of the plant’s 12 engines have successfully completed all required performance and functional testing. The 12th engine is undergoing final testing before being placed in service.
Completion of Port Westward Unit 2 is a significant milestone in the implementation of PGE’s 2009 Integrated Resource Plan. The plan was acknowledged by the Oregon Public Utility Commission in November 2010. Port Westward Unit 2 was PGE’s benchmark proposal in a competitive bidding process conducted pursuant to guidelines established by the Oregon Public Utility Commission, using objective scoring criteria intended to identify projects that provide the best balance of cost and risk while meeting PGE customers’ needs for reliable, affordable electric power.
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About Portland General Electric Company
Portland General Electric, headquartered in Portland, Ore., is a fully integrated electric utility that serves more than 843,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in Oregon. In 2014, PGE celebrated 125 years of powering Oregon. Visit our website at PortlandGeneral.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
Statements in this news release that relate to future plans, objectives, expectations, performance, events and the like may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such forward-looking statements include statements concerning the future performance of Port Westward Unit 2 and other expected benefits of the project, as well as other statements identified by words including, but not limited to, “will,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “intends,” “estimates,” “promises,” “expects,” “should,” “conditioned upon” and similar expressions. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, including regulatory, operational and legal matters, as well as other factors that could affect the deployment and successful operation of the plant. As a result, actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements included in this news release are based on information available to the Company on the date hereof and such statements speak only as of the date hereof. The Company assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Prospective investors should also review the risks and uncertainties listed in the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and the Company’s reports on Forms 8-K and 10-Q filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, including Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operation and the risks described therein from time to time.
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Source: Portland General Electric Company
