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WA — Power Infrastructure Updated January 2026

Washington

WECC Nuclear Natural Gas Solar Wind Storage Data Center PPAs Queue Bottlenecks Transmission Constraints

Overview

Washington is building out clean energy at scale, with Amazon-backed nuclear SMRs, gigawatt-class wind and solar farms in Eastern counties, and advanced storage projects including the nation’s largest pumped hydro facility under FERC review. Tech companies are locking in 24x7 carbon-free power agreements through Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and local public utility districts (PUDs), while BPA’s shift to cluster-based interconnection studies introduces new timing constraints for generation and large loads.

Generation Projects

Nuclear

Energy Northwest and Amazon are developing four Xe-100 small modular reactors near the Columbia Generating Station in Richland, with an initial capacity of 320 MW and expansion potential to 960 MW. Amazon has funded the feasibility phase and secured rights to purchase power from the first four modules.[1]

Natural Gas

Washington has no new gas plants in the pipeline. Existing facilities like the Chehalis Generation Facility (520 MW) and Grays Harbor Energy Center (530-650 MW) provide regional capacity but are not adding new builds.[2][3]

Solar

Washington’s solar pipeline is concentrated in Eastern counties, often paired with battery storage:

  • Wautoma Solar (Benton County): 470 MW solar with battery storage, awaiting construction.[4]
  • Badger Mountain Solar (Douglas County): 200 MW solar with optional 200 MW battery.[5]
  • Carriger Solar (Klickitat County): 160 MW AC solar with 63 MW battery.[6]
  • Wallula Gap Solar (Benton County): 60 MW solar with optional battery.[7]

Wind

The Horse Heaven Wind Project in Benton County is a 1,150 MW combined wind, solar, and battery facility awaiting construction.[8]

Transmission and Grid

Washington faces transmission constraints as renewable generation scales up in the East and demand grows on the Puget Sound side:

  • Cascade Renewable Transmission: A 400 kV HVDC line with 1,100 MW capacity, spanning 100 miles from BPA’s Big Eddy substation near The Dalles to Portland General Electric’s Harborton substation, crossing Klickitat, Skamania, and Clark counties.[9]
  • PSE Energize Eastside: New substation and upgrades to 16 miles of transmission lines from Redmond to Renton to improve reliability as regional load grows.[10]

Battery Storage

Washington’s storage pipeline includes both lithium-ion battery systems and a gigawatt-scale pumped hydro project:

  • Goldeneye Battery Storage (Skagit County): 200 MW / 800 MWh stand-alone facility in EFSEC review.[11]
  • Goldendale Energy Storage (Klickitat County): 1,200 MW closed-loop pumped-storage project under FERC review, with transmission facilities extending into Oregon.[12]

Nearly all major solar projects include integrated or optional battery storage.[4][5][6][7][8]

Data Center Power Agreements

Tech companies are securing long-term clean power in Washington through direct agreements:

  • Amazon + Energy Northwest: Amazon funded the SMR feasibility phase and has rights to purchase electricity from the first 320 MW Xe-100 project.[1]
  • Microsoft + Powerex: Powerex will match Microsoft’s Washington data center load on an hourly basis using carbon-free power and plans a 200 MW wind project in the Pacific Northwest, enabled by Douglas County PUD.[13]

Interconnection Queue

BPA is transitioning from serial interconnection studies to a cluster-study process. Only requests submitted by November 22, 2023 can enter the transition cluster, and after June 30, 2024 BPA stopped accepting individual feasibility and system-impact studies for large-generator requests.[14]

This transition is a material constraint for new generation and large loads. Washington’s data center growth is tied to BPA and local PUDs, so queue congestion and cluster timing directly affect project schedules.[14]

What to Watch

  • Energy Northwest SMR timeline: Federal approvals and construction schedule for the first four Xe-100 modules.
  • EFSEC decisions on solar-plus-storage: Permit outcomes for Wautoma, Badger Mountain, and Carriger will set the pace for Eastern Washington buildout.
  • BPA cluster study results: The transition cluster will determine which generation projects move forward and on what timeline.

Sources

[1] Energy Northwest. “Amazon & Energy Northwest Announce Plans to Develop Advanced Nuclear Technology in Washington.” October 16, 2024. https://www.energy-northwest.com/news-releases/amazon-energy-northwest-announce-plans-to-develop-advanced-nuclear-technology-in-washington/. Accessed January 8, 2026.

[2] Washington State Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC). “Chehalis Generation Facility.” n.d. https://efsec.wa.gov/facilities/chehalis-generation-facility. Accessed January 8, 2026.

[3] Washington State Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC). “Grays Harbor Energy Center.” n.d. https://efsec.wa.gov/facilities/grays-harbor-energy-center. Accessed January 8, 2026.

[4] Washington State Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC). “Wautoma Solar Project.” n.d. https://efsec.wa.gov/facilities/wautoma-solar-project. Accessed January 8, 2026.

[5] Washington State Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC). “Badger Mountain Solar.” n.d. https://efsec.wa.gov/facilities/badger-mountain-solar. Accessed January 8, 2026.

[6] Washington State Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC). “Carriger Solar.” n.d. https://efsec.wa.gov/facilities/carriger-solar. Accessed January 8, 2026.

[7] Washington State Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC). “Wallula Gap Solar.” n.d. https://efsec.wa.gov/facilities/wallula-gap. Accessed January 8, 2026.

[8] Washington State Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC). “Horse Heaven Wind Project.” n.d. https://efsec.wa.gov/facilities/horse-heaven-wind-project. Accessed January 8, 2026.

[9] Washington State Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC). “Cascade Renewable Transmission.” n.d. https://efsec.wa.gov/facilities/cascade-renewable-transmission. Accessed January 8, 2026.

[10] Puget Sound Energy. “Energize Eastside Fact Sheet.” March 7, 2023. https://energizeeastside2.blob.core.windows.net/media/Default/AbouttheProject/2023_0307_PSE_EE_Factsheet.pdf. Accessed January 8, 2026.

[11] Washington State Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC). “Goldeneye Battery Storage.” n.d. https://efsec.wa.gov/facilities/goldeneye-battery-storage. Accessed January 8, 2026.

[12] Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. “Final EIS for Goldendale Energy Storage Project (P-14861-002).” February 8, 2024. https://www.ferc.gov/news-events/news/final-eis-goldendale-energy-storage-project-p-14861-002. Accessed January 8, 2026.

[13] Powerex Corp. “Powerex Announces Agreement to Provide 24x7 Hourly Matching of Carbon-Free Energy to Microsoft.” June 19, 2023. https://powerex.com/sites/default/files/2023-06/Powerex%20Announces%20Agreement%20with%20Microsoft%20for%2024x7%20Carbon-Free%20Energy.pdf. Accessed January 8, 2026.

[14] Bonneville Power Administration. “Large Generation Transition Process.” n.d. https://www.bpa.gov/energy-and-services/transmission/interconnection/large-generator/large-generation-transition-process. Accessed January 8, 2026.