Portland General Electric Installs Rooftop Solar Panels at 5 Operational Facilities in Oregon
July 18, 2024
Portland General Electric (PGE), an integrated energy company in Oregon, has installed rooftop solar panels on five of its operational facilities and will continue to explore ways to conserve energy in its owned buildings.
The company is expanding its use of renewable energy while reducing energy costs and grid demand by transforming offices, operations, and training centers into sites for solar power generation.
Out of PGE's 17 facilities, 5 have completed installing solar panels:
- Sherwood Training Center: This facility was designed and built with a roof surface large enough to generate enough solar energy to meet the power needs of the entire facility. 82 kW of solar capacity were installed in 2021, with another 81 kW added in December 2023. Currently, the training center is a zero-emissions facility, highly energy efficient, does not emit greenhouse gases directly from energy use, and is powered solely by clean energy.
- Salem Operations Center: The 420 kW system is expected to be fully operational soon. Once available, the solar array is estimated to offset about 80% of the facility’s total power needs.
- Integrated Operations Center (IOC): An initial 155 kW of solar capacity began generating power in January 2022, with an expansion up to 220 kW in 2023. This is enough generation to offset 10-15% of the building’s energy usage. In summer 2024, PGE plans to lay solar panels on covered parking spaces, with a capacity for generating up to 350 kW of solar energy.
- Portland Operations Center: Solar panels at the facility’s garage provide 33 kW of solar capacity.
- Avery Operations Center: This facility installed a small array, producing about 9 kW of solar energy.
PGE assessed its 14 additional facilities to determine their suitability for solar installations. Later in 2024, it plans to install rooftop solar panels at its Tualatin Contact Center and Woodburn Operations Center.
