A new form of electricity supply is coming to neighborhoods in Western Washington and greater Portland. Whether you like it or not may depend on how much you trust developer assurances about the safety of big rechargeable battery arrays.
Utilities and independent energy companies have proposed a slew of standalone battery energy storage systems, some of which have generated vocal pushback in the permitting process. Both supporters and opponents acknowledge that utility-scale battery storage will be needed for the Northwest to keep the lights on as a rising amount of variable renewable electricity — such as wind and solar — comes onto the grid.
The first urban, large-scale battery farms in the Northwest are on track to enter service by the end of this year in Troutdale , Oregon, and just over a year later in Arlington in Snohomish County. Energy developers have proposed dozens more projects to follow in 2025 to 2027 from near the Canadian border in Whatcom County to the outer suburbs of Portland. Transmission planners at Puget Sound Energy alone have 15 to 20 interconnection requests for major battery storage projects in their queue for evaluation.