Amazon has finalized its take over of the Sunstone solar-and-storage project in eastern Oregon, picking up what regulators have signed off as the state's largest solar-plus-storage development. The purchase hands the tech giant a multi-phase, shovel-ready build in Morrow County that previously belonged to Pine Gate Renewables and passed through bankruptcy. Local officials and energy watchers say the deal could reset how power gets to the region's growing cluster of big tech data centers.
Court records identify the buyer as Oregon Solar 1 LLC, a special-purpose entity owned by Amazon Energy, and show the sale closed on Feb. 27, 2026, following a court-supervised auction, according to Omni Agent Solutions. Industry coverage put the winning bid at about $83 million, with Amazon topping Puget Sound Energy for the Sunstone assets, as reported by pv magazine USA.
What Sunstone Is
On paper, Sunstone is a heavyweight. The Oregon Energy Facility Siting Council has approved it as a 1,200 megawatt solar photovoltaic facility paired with roughly 7,200 megawatt-hours of battery storage across an approximately 9,400 acre boundary in Morrow County. Council documents show the blueprint breaks the build into as many as six phaseable site certificates and includes plans for substations, a dedicated transmission corridor, and interconnections with the Bonneville Power Administration and local electric cooperatives. According to the Oregon Department of Energy, the approvals carry conditions covering construction schedules, retirement funding, and other site certificate requirements.
Why Amazon Bought It
Amazon has been steadily ramping up data center capacity in eastern Oregon, and it has not been shy about its frustration when the power does not show up. The company publicly argued that regional utilities failed to deliver promised electricity to its campuses, a dispute it brought to state regulators late last year, according to Bloomberg. Controlling Sunstone gives Amazon the option to line up generation and battery dispatch on its own timetable instead of relying only on third party power purchase agreements, a shift that industry outlets have flagged as significant. Data Center Dynamics noted that the project sits in the same county where Amazon has been building or pursuing new data center campuses.
Local Impact And Timeline
Developers and trade coverage describe Sunstone as shovel ready, with environmental reviews wrapped up and engineering and procurement expected to begin in 2026. Phased construction would follow, and initial segments are projected to come online before the end of 2027. The full buildout stretches over multiple years and will still require local permitting, tax discussions, and land use negotiations. Project proposals have included community benefit measures intended to respond to agricultural impacts in and around Morrow County. Solar Industry and other outlets have highlighted both the potential economic boost and the long runway that comes with a project of this scale.
Regulatory And Legal Notes
Because the site certificate was originally issued to a Pine Gate subsidiary, any formal transfer of those rights or amendments tied to the sale will run through the Oregon Department of Energy and the Energy Facility Siting Council, which established the project's conditions. Court notices filed in Pine Gate's chapter 11 case indicate that closing the deal transferred title to the Sunstone assets and that proceeds will be used to pay secured creditors as the reorganization continues. Omni Agent Solutions and state permitting records will be the key public documents to watch as Amazon and regulators complete the transfer and the company moves toward construction.
