As of June 2026, the Ostrea Solar project, a 104 MWdc utility scale solar facility being built by Cypress Creek Renewables in Yakima County, Washington, has entered the mid 2026 window in which it was scheduled to reach commercial operation. Since the financial close and February 2025 groundbreaking, the developer and its engineering, procurement and construction contractor PCL Solar have not issued a fresh public milestone announcement, and no commissioning or grid energisation notice had been published at the time of writing. The most recent guidance from Cypress Creek Renewables continues to point to commercial operation around the middle of 2026, placing the facility at or near the start of its operating life.
Construction Progress and Commercial Operation Date
Public reporting on day to day construction has been limited since the groundbreaking, with most coverage echoing the original financing announcement rather than describing new site activity. Available filings put the installed array at roughly 190,000 photovoltaic panels across about 500 acres, feeding 80 MWac to the grid through a new 115 kV substation on Bonneville Power Administration’s Moxee to Midway transmission line. With the commercial operation date targeted for mid 2026 and the build first scoped at roughly 14 to 16 months, the project is in the phase where equipment installation gives way to grid connection and testing. Anyone tracking a firm energisation date should watch for a commissioning statement from Cypress Creek or a Bonneville interconnection notice in the coming months.
Yakima County Solar Cluster and Clean Power Demand
Ostrea is one piece of a growing renewable cluster in the northeast corner of Yakima County. About 12 miles west, Cypress Creek’s 80 MW Goose Prairie project has been generating power since 2024 and recorded rising output into early 2025, while the adjacent High Top facility was permitted alongside Ostrea and sits on a slower track. Together Ostrea and High Top are expected to supply roughly 30,000 homes once both are running. The timing matters because appetite for round the clock clean power is climbing sharply, driven in part by the wave of hyperscale data centers now under development, including the $10 billion Amazon Missouri data center campus in Montgomery County. Projects like Ostrea, alongside storage assets such as the $400 million Greenwater battery development advancing in Washington, illustrate the kind of generation that increasingly underpins that load.
What Comes Next for Ostrea Solar
The near term focus is closing out construction and moving through testing to full commercial operation within the targeted window. Items still to be confirmed publicly include the exact energisation date, the final panel count and capacity figures at completion, and the start of revenue under the project’s offtake arrangements. Cypress Creek has signalled a continued Washington pipeline, so a commissioning announcement for Ostrea would likely arrive alongside progress news on High Top and the developer’s other regional assets.
Project Overview
- Project Name: Ostrea Solar Project
- Location: Yakima County, Washington, in the northeast of the county about 30 miles east of Yakima
- Developer/Owner: Cypress Creek Renewables
- Total Cost/Value: Approximately $150 million in construction financing
- Scale/Capacity: 104 MWdc / 80 MWac, powering 15,000 to 16,000 homes annually
- Construction Start: February 2025
- Expected Completion: Targeted commercial operation by mid 2026
- Funding/Financing: MUFG Bank (coordinating lead arranger), BNP Paribas, DNB Bank ASA, Santander, with U.S. Bank as tax equity investor
- Current Status: Under construction and within its targeted commissioning window as of June 2026
- Key Milestone: Financial close and groundbreaking achieved in early 2025, with grid connection via a new 115 kV Bonneville Power Administration substation
Project Team
- Cypress Creek Renewables: Developer, Owner and Operator
- PCL Solar (PCL Construction): Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) Contractor
- MUFG Bank: Coordinating Lead Arranger, Construction Financing
- BNP Paribas: Financier
- DNB Bank ASA: Financier
- Santander: Financier
- U.S. Bank: Tax Equity Investor
- Nextracker: Solar Tracker Supplier (NX Horizon)
- Sungrow: Inverter Supplier
- Bonneville Power Administration: Grid Interconnection and Transmission (Moxee to Midway 115 kV line)
- Washington Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC): Permitting and Regulatory Oversight
Reported 5th May 2025: The latest on the Ostrea Solar Project is that in early May the developers Cypress Creek Renewables secured $150 million in construction financing for the Ostrea Solar development. MUFG Bank served as the coordinating lead arranger, alongside BNP Paribas, DNB Bank ASA, and Santander. U.S. Bank is participating as the project’s tax equity investor.
“This transaction reinforces MUFG’s commitment to funding high-quality, sustainable infrastructure,” said Takaki Sakai, Managing Director at MUFG Bank. “We are proud to support Cypress Creek’s continued growth and the development of renewable assets like Ostrea Solar.”
The Ostrea Solar project, developed by Cypress Creek Renewables, is a 104-megawatt direct current (MWdc) utility-scale solar installation underway in Yakima County, Washington. Located approximately 30 miles east of Yakima, the facility spans 500 acres and will supply clean electricity to between 15,000 and 16,000 homes annually. Once completed, the project will provide 80MW alternating current (MWac) to the grid via a new 115 kV substation tied into the Bonneville Power Administration network.
Ostrea Solar features 194,000 photovoltaic panels mounted on Nextracker NX Horizon solar trackers, 34,000 steel posts, and Sungrow inverters. The project represents a major investment in Washington’s renewable energy infrastructure, with long-term benefits for both the local economy and the environment.
Groundbreaking Ushers in New Era for Solar in Washington
Construction began in February 2025 with PCL Construction’s Solar Division (PCL Solar) as the EPC (Engineer, Procure, Construct) contractor. This marks Cypress Creek’s first solar project in Washington to reach both financial close and groundbreaking.
“We’re thrilled to have broken ground on Ostrea,” said Sarah Slusser, CEO of Cypress Creek. “This project reflects our commitment to helping Washington meet its clean energy goals and delivering value to the communities we work in.”
Cypress Creek Renewables to Build 80 MW Solar Plant in Yakima County
Job Creation and Local Economic Impact
The Ostrea Solar project is expected to generate approximately 250 construction jobs and contribute an estimated $15 million in tax revenue to Yakima County over its operational lifetime.
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