Op/Ed: We're Asking the Wrong Questions About the Cost of Renewables (Portland Business Journal, OR)

This year will mark my 30th working in energy-related fields. I began as an intern at the Bonneville Power Administration in 1991 and have worked as an energy professional ever since. I’ve stayed in this field because I have a passion for it. Energy policy impacts so many different aspects of our lives. From the air we breathe to climate change and social equity, energy choices are of paramount importance.

One question I often hear debated is whether wind and solar power are now cheaper than hydropower. This is most often brought up by people contending that hydropower can be replaced by other renewables at a cost savings.

While all three resources are carbon-free and harness renewable energy (wind, sunshine, flowing water), most of the region’s dams were built between the 1940s and 1970s and have already been paid for. So, existing hydropower has a distinct affordability edge, even if you add in the cost of turbine upgrades at the region’s dams.

Still, I believe people are asking the wrong question.

We shouldn’t think of replacing hydropower generation with wind and solar plants. Instead, we should ask how our carbon-free energy resources can best partner to help us reach our decarbonization goals.

To answer this question, you have to understand how the electric grid works.

The entire Western electricity grid – from Canada down to parts of Mexico – operates as a synchronized mega-machine, governing millions of smaller machines. If, at any moment, the grid loses its perfect balance between supply and demand of energy, the synchronization fails. If this happens, it could lead to uncontrolled cascading blackouts across the Western US, Western Canada, and parts of Mexico. To put it mildly, that would be bad.

Something that adds to the complexity is that our demand for electricity constantly ebbs and flows as nearly 100 million people across the West turn on lights, cook meals, stream videos, charge their EVs, and heat or cool their homes.

Wind and solar power are valuable in this mix because they provide an inexpensive carbon-free energy source. However, because wind and solar power are dependent on near-term weather (wind and sunshine), they can actually make the grid more difficult to balance.

This is where hydropower shows its impressive value. Like wind and solar power, hydropower provides important zero-carbon energy to the grid, but its true importance is in its ability to act like a giant clean energy battery. Hydropower dams do this by storing more water when electricity isn’t needed and releasing it past hydroelectric turbines when it is. This unique ability helps make the grid’s delicate balancing act possible.

This role is especially important because long-duration batteries aren’t commercially viable, and even shorter-duration lithium-ion batteries are still very expensive. This is one of the reasons the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine recently called on Congress to, "[preserve] operating nuclear and hydroelectric facilities where possible,” to ensure we don’t overburden vulnerable communities with excessive costs.

This statement recognizes that hydropower is a zero-carbon energy resource that can ramp up and down energy production on a moment’s notice, allowing us to add more wind and solar power safely to the grid. Malcolm Woolf, CEO of the National Hydropower Association, puts it best: “Hydropower is a clean energy force multiplier.”

As we contend with the devastating effects of climate change and the threat of a worsening crisis, we need our best carbon-free energy options to remain on the table, and there is no question that hydropower’s special capabilities mean it should be at the top of the list.

Kurt Miller is the executive director of the nonprofit Northwest RiverPartners, which advocates for hydropower.

 

Maui-Based Companies Team Up to Work on Solar Power Project in Oregon (Pacific Business Journal, HI)

Two Maui-based companies, Neighborhood Power Corp. and Mana Monitoring, have partnered on a large community solar power project in Oregon.

Neighborhood Power, a solar seller with an office in Kahului, and Mana Monitoring, a cloud-based energy solutions management specialist in Lahaina, combined to develop four 2.5-megawatt solar farms within the service territory of Portland General Electric.

Three of the four farms are currently operational, according to Mana Monitoring. They are the first commissioned projects in Oregon’s newly mandated Community Solar Program, in which commercial and low-income residential customers — especially those without the means to add their own solar panels — can purchase energy from nearby renewable sources.

According to the program, its early returns have seen subscribers save an average of 5-20% on annual electricity costs.

“We believe everyone deserves the opportunity to benefit from renewable energy but also recognize not every home, building, or housing situation allows for the purchase and installation of solar PV,” said Benjamin S. Collinwood, vice president of sales at Neighborhood Power, in a statement. “Community solar projects like this help contribute to a healthier environment for the entire community, and Mana Monitoring helps us ensure our solar farms reach peak performance and generate the expected returns we can pass on to subscribers.”

Mana Monitoring’s platform tracks, or aggregates, the production of each farm on a centralized dashboard in order to maximize solar performance.

“Real-time monitoring is essential for managers of community solar projects like Neighborhood Power to optimize system uptime, which ultimately translates into maximum savings for subscribers,” said Zoltan Milaskey, president of Mana Monitoring, in a statement. “Mana Monitoring’s platform is used on more than 500 MW of energy nationally, and working with other renewable energy experts like Neighborhood Power allows us to bring our combined experience to Oregon in a powerful way.”

Pacific Business News profiled Milaskey in 2019, while Neighborhood Power’s Stephen Gates wrote a PBN piece about he opened markets in an unstable industry in PBN in 2015.

 

Avista Utilities Submits Resource Plan to Washington, Idaho Regulators Outlining Clean-Energy Goals (Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA)

Avista Utilities is planning to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels by acquiring additional wind generation resources and upgrading its biomass and hydroelectric plants, according to the utility’s 2021 electric integrated resource plan.

The plan, submitted last week to the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission and the Idaho Public Utility Commission, shapes Avista’s strategy to meet electric load growth for the next 24 years.

The resource plan also outlines the utility company’s goals to meet Washington state’s requirement of 100% clean energy by 2045 and have a carbon-neutral supply of electricity by the end of 2027.

Nearly 55% of Avista’s current power generating potential comes from hydropower, biomass, wind and solar, according to its 2021 resource plan, known by its acronym IRP.

“We evaluate many options to find the ideal strategy to serve our customers that balances cost, reliability and the environment,” Jason Thackston, Avista’s senior vice president of energy resources, said in a statement. “We are pleased to have a plan that builds on our already strong commitment to the environment.”

Avista officials indicated in their resource plan that they plan to add 200 megawatts of wind generation from a project in Montana in 2023 and 2024, with an additional 100 megawatts of wind power to follow in 2028.

Avista is mulling the possibility of increasing the capacity of its Kettle Falls biomass plant by nearly 12 megawatts before 2026.

The utility, in its 2020 resource plan, found it to be cost-effective to also modernize its Post Falls hydro facility. That would increase that dam’s capacity by 8 megawatts.

Avista’s 2021 resource plan includes information about the utility’s 15% ownership of Units 3 and 4 of the coal-fired power plant in Colstrip, Montana. Avista is one of six owners of Units 3 and 4 at the plant.

Avista and other utility companies in the state will no longer be allowed to distribute electricity from coal-fired generation after 2025 due to the Washington Clean Energy Transformation Act.

Avista indicated it’s economically feasible for the utility to exit the Colstrip facility, but an exit strategy has not yet been agreed upon by its owners.

“Given the difficulty of exiting ownership of this facility, Avista cannot commit to a specific exit or retirement date at this time, but Avista continues to work toward the optimal exit from the resource,” the utility said in its 2021 resource plan.

Avista seeks input from customers, environmental organizations, business groups, elected officials and utility commission staff when developing its resource plan, which is typically updated every two years.

In February, Avista hosted a public meeting for the 2021 resource plan with more than 150 customers in attendance.

 

PacifiCorp Wind Farm Tied to Facebook's Green Goals Goes Online (Portland Business Journal)

PacifiCorp has brought a Montana wind farm into service, just as Oregon regulators investigate the company’s addition of the resource to help Facebook meets its green ambitions.

The 239.9-megawatt Pryor Mountain wind farm will be added to rates this week, Portland-based PacifiCorp said in a filing Monday with the Oregon Public Utility Commission.

A smaller wind repowering project also went online recently and will be folded into rates. Together, the projects will add 99 cents per month to the average residential customer’s bill, PacifiCorp said.

Regulators late last year found the company’s investment in the Montana wind farm to be prudent. While it could cost ratepayers in the short-term most years, PacifiCorp projects the wind farm should provide a long-term net benefit of at least $57 million.

Pryor Mountain has the attention of the Oregon PUC for another reason these days, however.

PacifiCorp bought the project outside normal competitive bidding rules and brought it online in order to provide renewable energy certificates to Facebook. The social media giant likes to be able to point to specific new projects that help it meet a goal of 100% clean energy for its operations, including the giant Prineville data center complex in Central Oregon.

The commission has raised questions about whether the Pryor Mountain-Facebook arrangement is in the public interest under the fairly loose regulatory mechanism PacifiCorp used, called Schedule 272, or whether more extensive guidelines are needed.

In a February order, the commission capped the use of Schedule 272, apparently putting at risk Facebook’s purchase of the RECs it needs to declare itself 100% green in Oregon.

PacifiCorp and Facebook objected to the cap, and in an order last week, the PUC set it aside. But the commission nevertheless asked staff to deliver a recommendation for “appropriate limitation on an interim basis” for Schedule 272 within 45 days.

In the same order, the commission formally opened an investigation into Schedule 272.

“We expect the investigation into Schedule 272 to determine, as a threshold matter, whether PacifiCorp’s use of this tariff to add a resource to its portfolio for the express purpose of delivering the RECs from that specific resource to a participating customer or customers is in the public interest,” the order said.

 

Grid Growing Pains (Politico)

(WASHINGTON, DC) - - President Joe Biden is pushing for a net-zero emission power sector by 2035 and revamping the nation’s grid is a major priority for his massive infrastructure proposal. Greater connections across the country could help regions out of a pinch in disasters like this year’s Texas winter storm, as well as transmit renewable energy to consumers thousands of miles away.

But those build-outs are no easy lift. Prohibitive costs, notoriously long lead times and disparate priorities have hampered past efforts to upgrade networks. In other words, what developers call the "three P's": planning, permitting, and paying for it. And local communities aren’t always so keen on massive transmission projects passing through without any clear understanding of how it will benefit them.

Biden has a few tricks up his sleeve to push projects ahead, including a tax credit for transmission projects and an office at the Department of Energy dedicated to easing government approvals of new lines.

Portland General Electric's $10 Million Big-Rig Charging Plan Hits a Bump at the PUC (Portland Business Journal, OR)

Portland General Electric wants to spend up to $10 million in ratepayer money to help build charging stations for heavy-duty electric trucks. But after a regulatory misstep by PGE, the Public Utility Commission has hit pause to scrutinize the plan, which includes an announced project with Daimler Trucks North America.

The development doesn’t figure to derail PGE’s efforts to invest in big-rig charging, which in broad terms fit with state policy objectives. But it could influence the shape and timing of projects, although the “Electric Island” charging site with Daimler is expected to be energized as planned in April.

PGE (NYSE: POR) and the truck maker in December said they were working together on a first-of-its-kind public truck charging facility on Swan Island, where Daimler is developing plug-in big rigs.

The announcement caught the attention of staff at the PUC because PGE had not filed a required tariff, utility-speak for an explanation of the arrangement to deliver services to Daimler.

“In the case of Electric Island, PGE did not bring the Electric Island partnership to the Commission for public inspection,” PUC staff wrote in a report earlier this month. “This creates concerns about authority, unjust discrimination, and preferential treatment.”

PGE was notified of the issue in January. In February it formally fessed up to the mistake, saying it had “anticipated additional legislative and regulatory authority to engage in such projects, but that authority did not materialize within the expected timelines.”

At the same time, PGE filed a tariff that would give nonresidential customers opportunities to develop charging sites that support heavy-duty vehicle charging levels over 1 megawatt. The utility outlined a plan to invest $10 million in projects, and with Electric Island nearing completion, asked the commission for expedited action.

Truck electrification is a state priority, and commissioners, at a PUC meeting earlier this month, were sympathetic to PGE’s eagerness to move quickly to develop a program that “supports the development of optimal charging solutions and grid integration for such vehicles and infrastructure as we prepare for broad commercialization,” as the utility put it.

But commissioners agreed with staff that a closer look at PGE’s plan was warranted. In a March 12 order, the commission suspended the tariff indefinitely, although the Electric Island project will apparently move forward as scheduled, with rate recovery subject to review in the utility’s next general rate case.

“I just have a lot of questions about the structure of the tariff being a blanket ‘Let’s spend $10 million of ratepayer dollars’ and not have much clarity about what that’s going for, or why that amount of money is needed or exactly what benefits we’re going to get out of that,” Commissioner Mark Thompson said. “I have a lot of concerns.”

In the deal with Daimler, PGE spent $1.5 million in distribution system and “make-ready” improvements to allow for installation and operation of charging stations.

The utility’s plan, filed in February, outlined further investments along the lines of the Electric Island deal, limited to $5 million for each customer in the program.

In its filing, PGE said getting an early start in big-rig charging, with its potentially large power needs, would help it understand and cost-effectively mitigate grid impacts.

Similar to passenger EV growth, the company made the case that truck charging, if smartly handled, could produce new revenue to support the electric system, in turn reducing the cost burden for other ratepayers.

“PGE ... believes these early learnings will help accelerate the deployment of new transportation electrification technologies, bringing new load to our system,” the company said. “Projects may also generate other monetary benefits, including Clean Fuels Program credits and new retail electricity revenues.”

 

Op/Ed: NorthWestern Energy’s Leadership Banks on Dirty Energy & Montanans Footing the Bill (Helena Independent-Record, MT)

NorthWestern Energy often employs three to five times more lobbyists in Montana than South Dakota and Nebraska. Why hire so many insiders to court Montana lawmakers? Because most Montanans do not agree with NorthWestern Energy’s vision for our energy future.

A 2016 bipartisan study showed that 90% of Montanans support increases in solar energy and 86% support increases in wind. In 2019, when NorthWestern announced plans to build $1.3 billion in peaker gas plants, Montanans turned out in droves to raise objections because renewables are considerably cheaper (gas peaker plants cost $124-$162 per MWh, solar runs $29-$107 MWh, wind $23-$46 per MWh), and Montana’s solar and wind potential is vast, offering great potential benefit to rural communities with sustainable jobs, tax base increases and land leases.

Yet, despite overwhelming support for renewables here, NorthWestern’s leadership has continued to invest in dirty energy. The 2021 Montana legislative session is no different. Behold a few of the terrible bills that NorthWestern’s leadership has supported, or would benefit the company over ratepayers:

Senate Bill 379 would put Montana families on the hook for nearly $2 billion for Colstrip 4 costs and clean up. Outrageous.

SB 237 would eliminate NorthWestern Energy shareholders’ obligation to pay $2.5 million to low income and tribal energy efficiency programs. Truly shameful.

House Bill 475 would revise Montana's renewable energy standard to include old hydropower projects, rendering it useless.

HB 576 would repeal the standard altogether, also eliminating the Community Renewable Energy Program (CREP), and NorthWestern’s obligation to invest in CREPs or pay the $2.5 million to low income and tribal energy efficiency programs in the process.

SB 201 would make it easier for NorthWestern to avoid purchasing renewable electricity, especially from small producers, by preventing regulators from taking environmental considerations and the cost of future regulations into account when making decisions on approving new energy sources.

SB 257 could harm community-supported 100% clean electricity efforts in Missoula, Helena and Bozeman.

HB 481 attacks freedom of speech and the right to associate. Supposedly aimed at fossil fuel protests, this bill dramatically increases penalties for activity that is already illegal, and seems like an attempt at neutralizing our first amendment rights to protest peacefully at all. It could certainly put a deep chill over demonstrations by unionized employees, and even whole communities, that may protest when faced with job losses, stranded assets, or environmental impacts from industry practices.

What happens if the Montana Legislature passes these bills?

Montanans will lose protection against rate increases, and our rates will skyrocket as we are forced to pay for Colstrip costs (nearly $2 billion), and peaker gas plants ($1.3 billion). Montana’s doors will shut to the 21st century renewables rush, and we will have lost a huge economic opportunity for rural communities.

We must all speak out against these bills or our families will suffer enormous rate increases and be saddled with dirty energy for generations. We need an energy future we can afford.

Winona Bateman is the founder of Families for a Livable Climate.