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Oregon Department of Energy

Wheatridge Renewable Energy Facility III

Wheatridge Renewable Energy Facility III (WREFIII) is a 50 megawatt (MW) solar energy generation facility on 357 acres (0.5 sq. miles) of private land within an approximately 2,294 acre site boundary.

Operating/Approved. A 50 MW phase of the facility commenced commercial operation on March 22, 2022.

On May 21, 2026, the Energy Facility Siting Council issued its Final Order on Request for Amendment 1 (RFA1) of the site certificate, authorizing the extension of the construction completion deadline for the unbuilt portion of the facility, and the split of the approved facility into two facilities, each with their own site certificate. ​


WREFIII facility components are located in Morrow County; the site boundary is bisected by OR 207, approxi​mately 5 miles northeast of Lexington and approximately 7 miles northwest of Heppner. PDF Map I Online Map​

Applicant/Certificate holder: Wheatridge Solar Energy Center, LLC
ODOE contact: Chase McVeigh-Walker
Applicant/Certificate holder contact: David Lawlor
On November 19, 2020, the Energy Facility Siting Council approved Request for Amendment 1 of the Wheatridge Renewable Energy Facility II site certificate, which authorized allocation of previously approved facility components into an amended and two original site certificates for Wheatridge Renewable Energy Facility II, Wheatridge Renewable Energy Facility III and Wheatridge Renewable Energy Facility East, respectively. The documentation for the original project can be found on the Wheatridge Renewable Energy Facility II webpage.

Click here to view a diagram of the Site Certificate history.

Project Timeline

Name
  
Description
Date
  
Link
  
Preliminary Request for Amendment 1 (pRFA1)
11/21/2025
Public Notice of Receipt of pRFA1
12/2/2025/energy/facilities/Facilities%20library/2025-12-02-WREFIIIAMD1-Public-Notice-of-Receipt-of-pRFA1.pdf
Public Notice of RFA 1, Proposed Order, and Public Hearing
2/27/2026/energy/facilities/Facilities%20library/2026-02-27-WREFIII-RFA1-Public-Notice.pdf
Request for Amendment 1 (RFA1)
2/27/2026/energy/facilities/Facilities%20library/2026-02-27-WREFIII-RFA1.pdf
Proposed Order on RFA1
2/27/2026/energy/facilities/Facilities%20library/2026-02-27-WREFIII-RFA1-Proposed-Order.pdf
Public Notice of Draft Final Order
4/30/2026/energy/facilities/Facilities%20library/2026-04-30-WREFIIIAMD1-Draft-Final-Order-Public-Notice.pdf
Draft Final Order
4/30/2026/energy/facilities/Facilities%20library/2026-02-27-WREFIII-RFA1-draft-Final-Order.pdf



Contact the Facility Siting Team: