The largest solar energy facility planned in Oregon got its final greenlight for construction last week. The approval follows years of legal battles mounted by area farmers and ranchers.
The Obsidian Solar Center is a project of Lake Oswego-based Obsidian Renewables LLC.
It will be the largest solar facility in the Pacific Northwest and one of the largest in the country by output, with more than 1.7 million solar panels generating at least 400 megawatts of energy at a time – enough to power more than 76,000 homes, according to documents the company submitted to the Oregon Department of Energy.
The Solar Center will sit on about six square miles near the Lake County community of Christmas Valley, in what is considered the Oregon Outback.
For Obsidian Renewables, the area is ideal because it’s the sunniest in the state and is close to…
