EXCESS SNOWMELT MAY WASTE NORTHWEST WIND

Wind-power producers fight possible shutdown of turbines; Pacific Northwest wind-power producers are battling a proposal that would force them to periodically shut down their plants in the months ahead, potentially costing them millions of dollars in lost revenue
Hal Bernton, April 12, 2011 (Seattle Times)

"…Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) officials say that limiting wind production [in the Pacific Northwest] could be required to free up space in the regional transmission system to handle hydropower generated from the melt-off of a huge mountain snowpack this year…[T]urbine owners bristle at the BPA proposal, which they say would result in a big financial hit during the blustery spring and early summer months, peak season for wind generation…

"The dispute reflects major strains on the regional power system, which has been reshaped by a dramatic expansion of wind power in Washington and Oregon. Most of that power is exported to California and other markets outside the Northwest…Wind-power producers say the BPA should compensate them financially for any prolonged shutdowns ordered by the agency…"

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"BPA officials say the shutdowns will only happen as a last resort and that wind producers should not receive compensation…Such payments would raise operating costs and could push up rates for the BPA's major customers — Northwest public utilities…

"During the past decade, wind power has attracted billions of dollars of investment, driven in part by tax incentives and state requirements that utilities buy renewable energy other than hydro power… Northwest farms are capable of producing up to 3,500 megawatts of power. That's more than triple the energy of the Northwest's sole nuclear-power plant…Total wind-power capacity could double by 2015."

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"The BPA manages the regional power-supply system by balancing, minute by minute, the flow of electricity surging through the system with demand…[T]he BPA has found it more difficult to transmit all that power and still meet other responsibilities, which include selling hydro power outside the region and spilling water over dams to aid the passage of migrating salmon…

"For many wind-power producers, a big part of the payback is collecting tax credits for power production. Those credits couldn't be collected during shutdowns…They are pressing for alternatives to ship their power to other areas of the U.S. and Canada, and more flexibility to substitute wind power for fossil fuel-generated electricity outside the region…[A] March 31 letter to the BPA…[from] Sen. Jeff Merkley and Rep. Earl Blumenauer…appears to have slowed down BPA…[and it] will try to develop new options for balancing the system, such as diverting surplus river water inland to help recharge aquifers."