Goose Prairie Solar project completion expected in early October
YAKIMA – How close is the Goose Prairie Solar project near Moxee, Washington, to being fully operational? Like new homeowners, developers of the large energy operation have begun “mowing the lawn” on the property.
Completion of the 80-megawatt project is expected next month, and a utility sign-off on the solar energy farm is scheduled in November, said Jacob Crist, senior project manager with developer Brookfield Renewable.
“The project remains ahead of the contractual schedule … we’re scheduled to be completed in early October,” Crist said Wednesday during the monthly Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council meeting.
Site work began last fall on the Goose Prairie project, located north of SR 24 about 8 miles east of Moxee. Thousands of solar panels and related infrastructure were installed this spring, and Brookfield Renewable begin energization of the site in June, shortly after substation work was completed on the 625-acre site near SR 24, Den Beste Road and Desmarais Road.
Capacity and availability testing began this month, Crist said, with power generated by Goose Prairie’s solar panels being taken by the Bonneville Power Administration’s Moxee-to-Midway 115 kV transmission line.
This fall’s timeline includes BPA officials certifying delivery of power to off-site customers by Nov. 25, Crist said. After another month of testing, full capacity is expected to be available by Dec. 24.
Two other indications that the project is nearly complete: the first grass cutting on the site began in late August, in accordance with the state-approved weed management plan for the property; and Crist will turn things over to Nelson Jia, assistant manager for the site, as Brookfield shifts its oversight to operations rather than construction.
Another step toward starting construction at a nearby solar project was taken during Wednesday’s board meeting.
The EFSEC board voted unanimously to begin a 30-day comment period on a construction stormwater general permit sought for the Ostrea solar project in northeast Yakima County, about 12 miles east of the Goose Prairie project.
Ostrea, near the Silver Dollar Café and just west of the SR 24 and SR 241 intersection in the county’s northeast corner, was approved with the adjacent High Top solar facility in April 2023.
Both are being developed by California-based Cypress Creek Renewables.
The two 80-megawatt projects can provide power for a combined 30,000 homes.
They are separate projects because they will be served by two different power lines: High Top by PacifiCorp’s Union Gap to Midway 230 kV transmission line, and Ostrea by Bonneville Power Administration’s Moxee to Midway 115 kV transmission line – which also will take power from the Goose Prairie solar panels.
High Top and Ostrea cover roughly 1,600 acres each, with the solar panels and other equipment planned on 926 and 811 acres, respectively. The sites are north of SR 24 and south of the Yakima Training Center.
To view and comment on the Ostrea stormwater permit, visit the EFSEC website, click on the “Energy Facilities” tab on the home page, then scroll down the High Top and Ostrea solar project page.
Contact Joel Donofrio at jdonofrio@yakimaherald.com.