Facebook can rest easy about meeting its 100% renewable energy goal in Oregon this year.
State utility regulators have made that possible by
providing additional space in a PacifiCorp program that allows the electric
utility's big customers to pay a premium to link their service to specific
renewable energy projects.
Facebook has relied on that program, called Schedule 272, to
claim its massive — and growing— Prineville data center complex is backed with
100% renewables.
The claim was jeopardized when the Public Utility Commission
capped Schedule 272 pending an investigation, citing concerns the program might
pose risks for other PacifiCorp customers.
But the PUC was also leery of abruptly derailing a pathway
to renewable energy for green-conscious corporations.
So on Tuesday, commissioners unanimously accepted a staff
proposal that excludes a new 240-megawatt PacifiCorp wind farm in Montana from
under the cap. Facebook said it expects that exclusion to provide it room to
get enough Schedule 272 renewable energy to meet its needs in 2021.
In recommending the exclusion, PUC staff said they were
"sympathetic to customers that require options to meet their
sustainability goals given the dearth of other options in PacifiCorp’s
portfolio."
It was the Montana wind farm, called Pryor Mountain, that
prompted the commission's focus on Schedule 272.
Previously, PacifiCorp had done power purchase agreements
with independently owned power plants to supply renewable energy credits to
Facebook. But with Pryor Mountain, PacifiCorp acquired the project outside
normal competitive bidding rules specifically to serve Facebook’s needs.
The PUC found the wind farm to be a prudent investment by
the utility, and allowed it into rates. But the commission remained concerned
that the project, essentially undertaken for Facebook's benefit, hadn't gone
through the normal planning and analysis process.
"There is a risk that (PacifiCorp ratepayers) will not
ultimately realize economic benefits over the long term," the commission
wrote in March, when it ordered an investigation into Schedule 272. "If
market prices are lower, the wind project underperforms, or lower cost
zero-carbon resources are available when there is a demonstrated need for the
capacity, (PacifiCorp ratepayers) bear the risk of higher costs."
In its decision this week, the commission barred PacifiCorp
from acquiring new resources to meet Schedule 272 needs. And with any new power
contracts under Schedule 272, the utility will have to provide additional
information including "analysis supporting the cost and benefits of the
resources to all customers."
No timetable has been set for the Schedule 272
investigation.
