Amazon Secures Major Solar Storage Project in Oregon to Power Data Center Expansion
January 27, 2026
In a strategic move to secure its energy future, Amazon has received court approval to acquire a bankrupt solar power storage project in Oregon, highlighting the intensifying race among technology giants to directly control power generation for their energy-hungry data centers. This trend is driven by utilities struggling to meet the soaring electricity demands of the digital economy, pushing cloud providers and developers to become major players in the power sector.
Last week, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas approved Amazon's all-cash bid of $83 million for the Sunstone solar power project near Pendleton, Oregon. The project's original developer, Pine Gate Renewables, had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November. This acquisition is the latest in a series of major investments by tech companies, following actions like Google's parent company agreeing to pay $4.75 billion for renewable energy developer Intersect Power last year.
The Sunstone project, located in Lexington approximately 50 miles west of Pendleton, is poised to become one of the largest solar power storage facilities in the United States. According to the Oregon Department of Energy, the facility is designed to store about 7,200 megawatts of solar-generated electricity using lithium or zinc batteries. The massive 9,442-acre complex will include substations, transmission lines connecting to the West Coast grid, and additional support buildings, situated next to the U.S. Navy's Boardman Bombing Range.
Amazon's push for direct power access follows a complaint it filed with Oregon regulators last year against utility PacificCorp, alleging inadequate power supply for its data centers. Amazon Web Services operates roughly 40 data centers in the state, with clusters in Boardman, Hermiston, Umatilla, and a new campus under development in Arlington—all in the Columbia River valley near the Sunstone site. Amazon has contracted Gallatin Power Partners of Bozeman, Montana, to provide development services for the project, which has all necessary state and federal approvals with construction slated to begin later this year.
Pine Gate Renewables cited unfavorable regulatory changes and financing difficulties for its bankruptcy filing. In a separate transaction within the bankruptcy proceedings, Israeli company Nofar obtained court approval to acquire $285 million of Pine Gate's assets across several states.
The deal underscores a fundamental shift in the data center industry, where securing reliable, large-scale power is as critical as building the facilities themselves. By owning generation and storage assets, companies like Amazon aim to insulate their operations from grid constraints and volatile energy markets, ensuring the stable power required for cloud computing and AI services. This vertical integration model is likely to accelerate, reshaping both the energy and digital infrastructure landscapes.
Source: costar
