BENTON COUNTY, Wash. – Scout Clean Energy (“Scout”), announced plans to add solar and battery storage components to a proposed wind farm that would be located just south of the Tri-Cities in Benton County, Washington.
The innovative development will combine wind energy, solar energy, and battery energy storage in the same location – making more renewable energy available to customers during lower wind periods, and for short durations when the sun is not shining, and the wind is not blowing.
“Throughout the development process, our team has been diligently examining ways to structure the most efficient project that will maximize the local resources and also integrate the power into the local grid reliably,” said Dave Kobus, Scout’s lead project manager for the Horse Heaven Wind Farm.
Project development began in late-2016 in the form of leasing, land acquisition, and environmental surveys which was conducted by both Scout Clean Energy and WPD, a Portland, Oregon-based wind energy developer that holds lease agreements in Benton County. Scout recently acquired additional wind farm assets from WPD which will enable the company to scale up to 850 MW of combined wind, solar, and battery power. Scout and WPD will continue to cooperate in the development of the Horse Heaven project.
“Scout has been monitoring power market interest for solar and storage technology along with wind, referred to as a hybrid facility. Recent improvements in technology have created the economic conditions needed to support demand for co-locating a wind-solar-battery storage project in the Horse Heaven Hills,” noted Kobus.
