The Port Westward Unit 2 plant is using 12 Wartsila 50SG engines running on natural gas – the largest gas engine in the world to provide peak energy along with solar and wind. The engines have a capacity of 18MW.

"With the growing amount of variable renewable power coming online, this type of flexible resource is essential in helping us continue to provide reliable service to our customers in an increasingly complex environment," PGE president and CEO Jim Piro said.

Wartsila’s smart power generation technology will help the utility to reach its renewable energy targets, with PGE already having met its 2015 goal set by the state government of 15% renewables.

The utility is aiming for 25% renewables by 2025.

"Port Westward Unit 2's advanced technology and unique configuration allows PGE to ramp the plant up to full load in less than 10 minutes," PGE's project manager for the new plant, Rick Tetzloff, said.

"This flexibility allows us to adjust quickly when renewable energy – like wind and solar – rise and fall with natural variability. And it also means that on peak demand days, our customers benefit from increased reliability."

Wartsila’s total installed capacity in the US is now approximately 2400MW.