[to put in perspective - this is more wind energy than was built in all of
Europe in any one year - think of the environmental impact - Will]
----- forwarded message -----
Subject: [windenergyweekly] Wind Energy Weekly #951
Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2001 12:10:31 -0400
From: "Tom Gray" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[clipped header - just the one article - Will]
___________________________________________
BPA ANNOUNCES
830 MW OF WINNING BIDS
___________________________________________
The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) announced plans Tuesday to go
forward with 830 MW of new wind power capacity from its groundbreaking
request for proposals issued in March.
BPA will now begin discussions on predevelopment agreements with the
four
companies behind the projects--SeaWest Windpower of San Diego, Calif.;
Zilkha Renewable Energy and Columbia Wind Power (affiliated with Cielo Wind
Power), both of Texas; and Pacific Winds of Boise, Idaho. The projects are
expected to be operational in about two and a half years.
Five of the projects are in Washington State and two are in Oregon.
When
completed, they will produce enough electricity to meet the needs of nearly
270,000 homes.
Completion of the wind plants will also make Bonneville the largest wind
energy supplier in the nation. The agency currently has 34 MW of wind
generation in operation, and another 425 MW already in contract negotiation
or under environmental review. These ongoing wind efforts, combined with
the additional 830 MW announced today, would expand the nation's wind
energy supply by about 28%.
In the project announcement, Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham threw
his
support behind renewable energy, saying, "hydropower, geothermal, wind, and
other renewables are highlighted in the National Energy Policy for their
potential for strengthening America's energy security. Today we're
celebrating moving a mature, renewable technology from the lab to the
marketplace. While renewables remain a small percentage of our electricity
generation portfolio, we look forward to increasing this share through
continued federal leadership.
Bonneville has structured a business arrangement that makes economic
sense
to both the ratepayers in the Northwest and the wind energy developers. As
a result of this process, Bonneville will be assured a long-term source of
competitively priced power, while the developers will be assured of a
stable, reliable rate of return on their investment."
"In the Pacific Northwest, wind is plentiful," said Steve Wright, acting
Bonneville Administrator. "By aggressively pursuing this resource for
electricity, we hope to be able to help meet the demand for energy with a
clean, economical, nonpolluting resource."
The agency has already begun a study, to be conducted with the Utility
Wind Interest Group, to evaluate the operational and economic impact of
such a large intermittent resource on the power system. The total amount
of wind power that BPA purchases will depend on the results of the studies.
SeaWest Windpower won the bulk of projects with four of the seven
winning
bids: two in Klickitat County, Wash., of 150 MW each; one 105-MW project in
Wasco County, Ore.; and one 100-MW project bordering Walla Walla and
Columbia Counties, Wash.
"SeaWest is very pleased to have been awarded such a significant number
of
megawatts from the BPA solicitation. This commitment by the BPA constitutes
a very positive first step under the Bush Administration's Energy Plan. We
encourage the Administration and Congress to continue supporting renewable
energy and extend the Production Tax Credit", said Jan C. Paulin, President
and CEO of SeaWest. "These projects provide strong evidence of the
cost-effectiveness of wind energy, and when combined with effective policy,
its ability to quickly respond to the energy needs of the Nation."
In addition to the SeaWest projects, Zilkha Renewable Energy Corp. is to
develop an 80-MW project in Gilliam Co., Ore., called the Wheatfield
Project; Columbia Windpower is to develop an 80-MW project in Washington;
and Pacific Winds is to develop a 150-MW project called Horseheaven Hills
in Benton Co., Wash.
The Portland, Ore.-based federal power marketing agency selected the
wind
projects from 25 proposals totaling about 2,600 MW (see Wind Energy Weekly
#943, 27 April). This was the largest request for wind proposals ever
conducted in the United States. The finalists were chosen by criteria that
included cost and availability of transmission. The average first-year
cost of the power is expected to be less than $30 per MWh, according to the
agency; after adding in the costs of firming up the variable wind
generation, Bonneville's wind program is still projected to be
cost-competitive with other sources of generation such as coal and natural gas.
Bonneville Power Administration is a federal agency that markets
wholesale
hydroelectric power primarily from the federal hydroelectric projects in
the Columbia River Basin. Bonneville owns and operates about
three-quarters of the Pacific Northwest's total transmission
capacity. Bonneville customers include publicly owned and investor-owned
utilities, as well as some large industries.
More information about the BPA announcement is available from the
Department of Energy at
http://www.energy.gov/HQPress/releases01/junpr/pr01104.htm .
