Oregon’s Biglow Canyon wind farm began adding 125 MW of solar beside its 217 turbines in July 2026
For nearly two decades, the high desert plateau of Sherman County, Oregon, has been wind country. Across rolling wheat fields and basalt ridges above the Columbia River, 217 turbines have turned steadily through the seasons, making Biglow Canyon one of the state’s most established wind energy sites.
In July 2026, something changed. Construction crews returned — not to service the turbines, but to begin laying the foundation for 125 megawatts of solar capacity alongside them. For the first time, panels began taking shape in the long shadows of spinning rotors.
A wind farm two decades in the making
Biglow Canyon’s story starts with paperwork. On October 11, 2005, Oregon’s Energy Facility Siting Council received a preliminary application for what would become one of the state’s defining wind energy projects. A complete application followed in March 2006, and by June 30 of that year, the site certificate was granted — a remarkably swift regulatory journey for a project of its scale.
The facility’s regulatory history reflects how large energy projects actually evolve — not in a single decisive moment, but through a series of adjustments.
What emerged over the following years was substantial. Through successive amendments, the facility grew into a 217-turbine installation spread across Sherman County’s high desert plateau. The landscape there is defined by open sky, persistent Columbia River Gorge winds, and agricultural terrain — wheat fields, basalt outcroppings — that makes large-scale energy development both practical and visually striking.
Biglow Canyon became a landmark of Oregon’s first generation of utility-scale wind. It wasn’t just a power plant; it was proof that the state’s regulatory framework and its wind resources could support serious infrastructure. That foundation matters now, because what’s happening in 2026 builds directly on top of it.
Years of amendments, and a fourth that rewrote the future
The facility’s regulatory history reflects how large energy projects actually evolve — not in a single decisive moment, but through a series of adjustments. Amendment 1 arrived just months after the original site certificate, in November 2006. Amendment 2 followed in May 2007, with Amendment 3 finalized in October 2008. Each round refined the project’s footprint, equipment, or operating conditions. This stage falls under the Oregon Department of Energy – Biglow Canyon submission.
Then came a long pause. For nearly two decades after Amendment 3, Biglow Canyon operated without a major structural change to its site certificate. Change Request Determinations addressed smaller modifications along the way, but the core facility remained as configured.
Amendment 4 broke that pattern entirely. On March 27, 2026, Oregon’s Energy Facility Siting Council issued its Final Order approving the amendment, and four days later — April 1, 2026 — the Fourth Amended Site Certificate was formally issued. In Oregon’s energy siting process, a site certificate amendment isn’t a routine permit. It requires agency review, public process, and a formal council decision. This was a significant regulatory milestone, not a procedural formality, and it formally rewrote Biglow Canyon’s future.
Solar panels rise beside spinning rotors
With the amended certificate in hand, construction began in July 2026. The goal: 125 megawatts of solar capacity, built on land already hosting two decades of wind infrastructure.
The logic of co-location is practical. Wind and solar on the same site can share grid interconnection and transmission infrastructure — costly components already in place at Biglow Canyon — which reduces both capital cost and complexity compared to developing a greenfield solar site elsewhere.
There’s also a generation profile argument worth considering. Wind energy tends to peak in the evening hours and during winter months, while solar generation peaks around midday and through summer. Together, they can produce a more consistent supply across the day and across seasons — a meaningful advantage as grid operators work to balance an increasingly renewable electricity mix.
Physically, the transformation is visible. Rows of solar panels are spreading across the plateau, filling spaces between and around the turbine towers. The site that once offered a single image — spinning rotors against a wide Oregon sky — now presents something more layered.
Wildlife, land, and the long responsibility of stewardship
Energy development at this scale carries obligations that don’t end at the ribbon-cutting. Biglow Canyon has maintained annual wildlife monitoring continuously since its early operating years, with reports filed through 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and as recently as June 2026 for the 2025 monitoring period.
Those reports track the ecological health of the site — raptors, migratory birds, and other species that share the plateau with the turbines. Oregon’s regulatory framework expects energy facilities to remain accountable across their full operational lifespan, not just during construction. The 2026 amendment process required evaluation of any additional wildlife and habitat impacts from the expanded footprint. The same landscape generating electricity for Oregon homes is also carefully watched, year after year, for what it costs the ecosystem surrounding it.
Biglow Canyon as a signal for Oregon’s energy landscape
Biglow Canyon’s hybrid expansion doesn’t exist in isolation. Oregon’s Energy Facility Siting Council is currently managing a dense pipeline of new projects — as of October 2026, facilities like the Deschutes Solar and Battery Energy Storage System, the Cascade Renewable Transmission System, and Muddy Creek Energy Park are all moving through preliminary application review. Solar, wind, storage, and transmission projects are advancing simultaneously across the state.
Within that broader context, Biglow Canyon represents something specific: the retrofitting of an established wind site with complementary solar capacity. It uses existing land rights, existing grid connections, and a community relationship built over nearly twenty years — a different kind of development calculus than breaking ground somewhere new.
Whether other aging Oregon wind facilities follow a similar path remains to be seen. But as the state’s renewable energy pipeline grows more complex, Biglow Canyon’s evolution suggests the next chapter may be written by deepening what’s already there — not only by building outward.
Kelly is an experienced writer with 15 years of experience exploring the big stories that shape our world, from tech breakthroughs and space exploration to climate, energy, and the fascinating quirks of science. She has a talent for turning complex ideas into sharp, memorable insights that stay with readers long after they’ve finished reading.
