Cypress Creek Energy's Ostrea Solar project in Yakima County, Washington, has begun commercial operation.

"Washington's economy is growing, and that growth requires more electricity," said Kevin Smith, CEO of Cypress Creek Energy. "Ostrea shows how we can responsibly bring new power online quickly and affordably, while creating lasting benefits for the communities where we operate, and caring for the land for generations to come."

The $180 million project was financed with private funds, and Microsoft, headquartered nearby, serves as the long-term offtaker of the energy and environmental products generated by Ostrea Solar. The arrangement reflects a broader corporate practice in which large technology companies sign long-term power purchase agreements to match their electricity consumption with renewable generation, and Microsoft has publicly committed to matching 100% of its electricity consumption with carbon-free energy purchases around the clock by 2030. Interconnected to the Bonneville Power Administration transmission system, the project adds 104 MW DC of new generation capacity to the region's power supply.

Cypress Creek will own and operate Ostrea for up to 40 years, and the company has made land management and environmental stewardship a central element of the project throughout its operating life. Working closely with the Washington State Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC) and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), Cypress Creek modified the project design to conserve approximately 275 acres of critical shrubsteppe habitat.

Shrubsteppe is one of Washington's most diverse ecosystems, providing habitat for species found nowhere else in the state. It is also increasingly scarce: an estimated 80% of Washington's historic shrubsteppe has been lost or degraded due to development and agriculture. That scarcity has made siting a key issue for renewable energy development across the western United States, where solar projects are increasingly located on arid and shrubland landscapes, and developers have responded by adapting project designs to reduce habitat impacts. In addition, Cypress Creek contributed funding to WDFW to support further conservation work elsewhere in the region.

The project was also designed with wildlife corridors to preserve migratory pathways through the site, including those used by Rocky Mountain elk moving through the region.

Stewardship efforts extend to the land beneath and around the solar panels themselves. Portions of the project site consist of degraded former cropland that had not been actively farmed in more than 25 years, where invasive and non-native plant species had become established. Siting solar on disturbed former agricultural land rather than intact natural habitat is an approach conservation groups and state agencies have encouraged as renewable deployment expands. During construction, invasive plants that can threaten native habitats were removed and disturbed areas were revegetated.

The site was then seeded with carefully selected mixes of grasses and pollinator-friendly flowering plants. Beneath and around the arrays, lower-growing species were chosen to establish healthy vegetation without interfering with the panels. Other restored areas feature taller grasses and flowering species that provide additional habitat and forage for pollinators.

PCL Solar Constructors served as the project's engineering, procurement, and construction contractor. Construction created approximately 300 jobs, all paid at prevailing wage rates, and included an apprenticeship program offering workers opportunities to gain experience and develop skills for long-term careers in the construction trades. Approximately 75 apprentices contributed 39,000 hours to the project during construction. The workforce provisions align with Washington state policy tying large renewable energy projects to labor standards, and how Ostrea's stewardship and habitat outcomes are monitored over its operating life will be a measure of the project's long-term footprint in the region.

News item from Cypress Creek