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Oil-rich Norway Plans Investment in Washington Solar Project by Don Jenkins Capital Press, May 20, 2026

The state's Clean Energy Transformation Act has attracted
international investment in wind and solar installations

Norwegians and Canadian pensioners are poised to become the latest international residents seeking to capitalize on Washington's clean-energy act.

Norway's sovereign-wealth fund and British Columbia's provincial investment corporation propose buying one-third shares in Goose Prairie Solar in eastern Yakima County.

The current owner, Brookfield Asset Management, proposes to retain the remaining one-third share and continue operating the 80-megawatt project. Norges Bank, which manages Noway's fund, announced it will pay $425 million for its share.

Washington's Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council must approve the ownership transfers.

Law attracts investment

The state's Clean Energy Transformation Act has attracted international investment in wind and solar installations on Eastern Washington farmland.

The act outlaws electricity created by coal, oil or natural gas by 2045. Energy supply experts warn the state risks power shortages as it becomes reliant on intermittent solar and wind power.

Norway built the world's largest sovereign-wealth fund, overseeing more than $2 trillion in assets, by drilling offshore for oil and natural gas. Norwegian lawmakers set up the fund to diversify the country's revenue sources.

Norway angered climate activists this month by announcing it would expand drilling in the North Sea, Barents Sea and Norwegian Sea. "Norway's oil and gas industry is vital to Norway and to Europe," Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said.

The British Columbia Investment Management Corporation manages investments for public pension funds and institutional investors. Provincial lawmakers set up the fund in 2000. The corporation managed about $215 billion in U.S. dollars in 2025, according to its website.

Goose Prairie was built on 625 acres of unirrigated agricultural land and began generating electricity in 2024. Grant County Public Utility District signed a five-year contract to take 100% of the project's power.

Farms that leased the property said the land had low value as farmland.