[largest in the nation - think about it - Will]
SEATTLE CITY LIGHT COMMITS TO
50-MW WIND POWER PURCHASE
___________________________________________
Seattle City Council members unanimously approved Mayor Paul Schell's
proposal to become the largest municipal utility purchaser of wind power in
the nation. The city will begin buying 50 MW of capacity from PacifiCorp
Power Marketing (PPM)--about 5% of the utility's load--from the Stateline
Wind Farm beginning Jan. 1, 2002 (see preceding article). The purchase is
set to increase to 100 MW in August, 2002, and possibly to 175 MW by
August, 2004.
"With this wind purchase, Seattle will be on the forefront of
renewable
energy in the nation and the world," Schell said. "This wind purchase will
give Seattle a high-quality renewable resource, encourage economic
development in Eastern Washington, and provide financial incentives for
further new wind resource development," he added.
"This is a great opportunity for our utility," said City Council
member
Heidi Wills, chair of the Council's Energy and Environmental Policy
Committee. "Wind power diversifies our energy portfolio and gives us
another clean, efficient renewable resource to complement our hydroelectric
power."
"There's a bright future for renewable wind energy in the Northwest,"
said
Peter Van Alderwerlt, PPM vice president for business development. "The
region's plentiful wind resources are complemented by hydro resources, and
in combination, both operate better when used to serve customers."
The price for the energy generated in January, including delivery
costs,
will be less than 5 cents per kWh and is comparable to costs for
electricity generated by natural-gas-powered turbines.
Rachel Shimshak, director of the Renewables Northwest Project,
emphasized
the importance of the contracts: "Both the power purchase contract and the
integration and exchange agreements do more than provide long-term
contracts for wind resources. They also demonstrate that wind is clearly
competitive, provide strong incentives to leverage future wind resource
development, and inform regional discussions as to the costs of turning the
intermittent wind resource into a firm, more practicably usable product."
"The energy from Stateline moves us more than half way to our goal of
obtaining 100 average megawatts [MWa] from new renewable resources by
2011," Schell said.
