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BPA proposal to compensate wind generators
The Bonneville Power Administration has announced a proposal for compensating wind energy producers that are served by the federal power marketing agency’s transmission grid for periodically reducing their output when necessary to keep the electricity supply from exceeding demand during high river flows.
If BPA decides to proceed with the compensation proposal, the agency will also propose in a rate case to split the cost of the compensation approximately equally between users of BPA’s Federal Base System and wind energy producers in its grid. The proposal comes after months of discussions with key stakeholders to find an equitable solution to oversupply. The proposal is based on concepts developed in those conversations.
Although the discussions are ongoing, BPA is releasing its proposal for public review now so the agency can meet a March 6 deadline for filing the proposal with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
FERC in a Dec. 7 order said that Bonneville’s “redispatch and negative pricing” policy was contrary to the law and gave the agency 90 days to rewrite the policy.
The FERC order said the new policy “results in non-comparable transmission service that is unduly discriminatory and preferential. Accordingly, Bonneville may not extend its current environmental redispatch policies or implement new environmental redispatch policies that result in noncomparable transmission service.”
A month ago Bonneville and other hydro power interest filed requests that FERC schedule a hearing on the issue and, ultimately, rescind its order. FERC granted the rehearing request but said it did so only to stall for time. Law requires that the commission respond to such requests within 30 days.
“In order to afford additional time for consideration of the matters raised or to be raised, rehearing of the Commission’s order is hereby granted for the limited purpose of further consideration, and timely-filed rehearing requests will not be deemed denied by operation of law,” the Feb. 6 FERC order said.
The petition, filed in June, to FERC came from a group of owners of wind facilities in the Pacific Northwest that said that Bonneville was “using its transmission market power to curtail wind generators in an unduly discriminatory manner in order to protect its preferred power customer base from costs it does not consider socially optimal,” the FERC order said.
Parties also petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to overturn BPA’s record of decision regarding the redispatch and negative pricing policy. Those petitions to the appeals court have been stayed until April 4, or pending final action by FERC on any request for rehearing or clarification in the related matter, whichever occurs later.
Meanwhile, BPA says it will continue to work with regional stakeholders to find a solution.
The terms of the newest proposal would run through 2015. The proposal would address the risk of a possible oversupply of energy when hydroelectric power produced by high runoff of water combines with wind generation in low-demand periods such as late at night. Electricity supply must constantly match demand to maintain the reliability of the electric grid.
“This is an important step toward resolving a Northwest issue in a way that works for the Northwest,” said BPA Administrator Steve Wright. “We’re focused on seeking solutions based on regional input that maintain reliability, protect fish and support renewable energy while equitably sharing costs.”
The risk of electricity oversupply depends on runoff conditions and BPA expects reductions in wind generation will be unnecessary in about one of every three years.
Reducing hydroelectric generation during high flows sends more water through dam spillways, increasing dissolved gas levels that can harm fish, including migrating wild salmon and steelhead that are protected under the Endangered Species Act.
To control gas levels, BPA maximizes hydroelectric generation in such circumstances and offers low cost, or free, replacement power to coal, natural gas and other thermal power plants, as well as to wind generators, asked to reduce generation during times of oversupply.
Thermal plants typically shut down and save fuel costs. But, most wind energy producers continue operating because of the revenue they receive from production tax credits, renewable energy credits and contracts that depend on continued wind generation.
Under the new proposal, BPA would first work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation to manage federal hydroelectric generation and spill water up to dissolved gas limits. Bonneville would then offer low-cost or free hydropower to replace the output of thermal and other power plants, with the expectation that many would voluntarily reduce their generation to save fuel costs.
If electricity supply still exceeds demand, BPA would then reduce the output of remaining generation within its system, including wind energy, in order of least cost. BPA would compensate the affected generation for lost revenues, including renewable energy credits and production tax credits, subject to audit. The negative pricing policy in effect last year did not call for Bonneville to provide funding to make up for lost credits.
On average BPA expects to compensate wind producers about $12 million per year for lost revenues related to reduced electricity generation, although the total could range from nothing to more than $50 million in extreme conditions, the agency says.
The Northwest River Forecast Center’s runoff projection for Columbia/Snake river basin for January to July 2012 is currently 87 percent of average, as measured at The Dalles Dam on the lower Columbia. Lower runoff reduces the likelihood of an oversupply of electricity this spring, but conditions can change rapidly.
Under the proposal, BPA would cover costs of curtailing wind generation this spring from its transmission reserve account until a rate can be established to recover the costs.
The agency would initiate a new rate case in which it would propose dividing compensation costs roughly equally between users of BPA’s Federal Base System and wind energy operators within BPA’s system.
For information, visit www.bpa.gov/go/oversupply.
FERC calls BPA’s high power cutoff rule discriminatory
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has sided with wind generating companies in an order giving the Bonneville Power Administration 90 days to correct what the commission called an “unduly discriminatory” policy limiting transmission of wind, thermal and other non-hydro power during high water flows in the Columbia River basin.
The FERC order is in response to a June 13 petition filed by a group of wind power generators in the Pacific Northwest in opposition to the BPA’s Environmental Redispatch Policy, which limits transmission of non-hydro energy during extraordinarily high water periods that the agency says historically occur about every third spring.
Iberdrola Renewables, a member of a coalition of wind energy companies that petitioned FERC, hailed the ruling.
“We are pleased with the Commission’s action on this important case, which establishes that BPA must offer open and non-discriminatory access to its transmission grid customers,” said Don Furman, senior vice president of Iberdrola Renewables.
BPA implemented the Environmental Redispatch Policy on an almost daily basis during May and June due to near record flows down the Columbia-Snake river system. To accommodate transmission of the excess hydropower during high-water periods, the policy limits access to the region’s transmission system for energy from fossil fuels and wind.
BPA officials, however, argued in documents filed with the FERC that many of the issues included in the in the Dec. 7 FERC order are outside the FERC’s authority, and that the commission jumped the gun by issuing the order while the Environmental Redispatch Policy is under review by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Legal briefings are now scheduled to begin Feb. 15.
In addition, Doug Johnson, BPA spokesman, said, “a lot of the issues described in that order are issues we have been discussing in settlement talks. Those talks are confidential.”
Johnson said the BPA “is still digesting the order” and so he could not comment beyond the press statement in which Steve Wright, BPA administrator said he wished the FERC would have given the agency and stakeholders time to work things out through ongoing settlement talks.
“We were surprised and very disappointed that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission would choose at this moment to render a decision when it is aware that we have been urged by many members of the Northwest Congressional delegation to settle this issue, and when settlement discussions are proceeding in good faith,” Wright said.
“The temporary oversupply of energy is a Northwest challenge. We believe it is the region’s responsibility to find the most appropriate way to address this challenge,” Wright said.
The Dec. order is in response to a petition filed June 13 by a group of wind generation companies across the Pacific Northwest who argue that the BPA should stop its practice of limiting transmissions of wind power during high water periods, or pay them for losses of income from federal and state renewable energy tax credits and other incentives based on the amount of wind energy they produce. The petitioners include Iberdrola Renewables, Inc.; PacifiCorp; NextEra Energy Resources; Invenergy Wind North America; and Horizon Wind Energy.
In documents submitted to the FERC, BPA officials said restrictions on transmission of wind energy over the agency’s power transmission system kick in during super high water periods such as last spring. In its response to the petition filed by wind energy companies, the BPA said it has two options for dealing with super high water flows – either running the excess water through hydro power generators and producing excess power on the Columbia River system of dams, or spilling it over dam spillways, which poses a risk to endangered salmon runs.
“The spill is a problem because it raises total dissolved gas levels in water, endangering salmon – a possible violation of Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act obligations,” the BPA wrote in its FERC response.
BPA markets much of the power generated in the federal hydro system at cost and owns and operates three-quarters of high-voltage transmission lines in the Pacific Northwest. It also funds one of the largest fish and wildlife protection and restoration programs in the world.
To compensate wind energy companies and operators of coal and natural gas power plants and others whose energy transmissions are limited during the very high water periods, the BPA provides them excess hydropower at no cost, according to the BPA response.
However, the petitioners contend the trade of hydropower to offset transmission limits may have worked out well financially for thermal power generators, but not so well for the wind energy companies. They argued that it doesn’t pencil out for them due to the loss of federal and state renewable energy tax credits and federal production incentives withdrawn when wind power production drops below eligibility levels for the incentives.
To offset those potential losses of government subsidies, the petitioners are seeking to force BPA to also pay them for taking the free hydropower, according to the FERC documents. In response, BPA said it rejected requests for such “negative price” payments because such payments could create opportunities to distort the market and shift costs, potentially leading to rate increases to BPA customers and public utility ratepayers.
In its order, FERC said it recognizes the dilemma the BPA faces in navigating competing obligations, including the protection of endangered species, the provision of low cost power to its preferred customers and the integration of wind, solar and other variable energy resources.
However, the order goes on to say that the commission ruled in favor of the petitioners on the issue of open access to transmission lines because they believe that is a key component of congressional mandates governing the region’s power grid.
“Open access is a fundamental tenet of electricity markets,” the FERC wrote in its conclusion. “Clear and firm principles of open access give industry the confidence to invest in new generation resources and support the construction of associated transmission necessary to meet future needs.”
During the 90-days FERC has given the BPA to revamp or replace its Environmental Redispatch Policy to improve open access to transmission for wind energy companies, Johnson said the BPA will continue negotiations through the settlement talks already under way.
“We have from the onset of talks been committed to a durable long-term alternative to the Environmental Redispatch Policy, as long as it addresses equitable cost allocation,” Johnson said.
Furman also pledged that the wind energy companies would continue to work with BPA to find an equitable solution.
“Despite our dispute on this issue, we have and will continue to work collaboratively with BPA. This is a great opportunity for the region’s utilities and consumers to work on long-term solutions,” Furman said. “We have a long history of working together to meet the region’s energy needs and look forward to better policies in the future.
The Renewable Northwest Project has come out in support of the FERC order calling the Environmental Redispatch Policy discriminatory.
“RNP is eager to continue working with BPA and regional partners toward solutions to over-generation that are economical, equitable and good for the environment,” and advance the Northwest’s future forward to deploying renewable energy.
“We are confident today’s FERC ruling will precipitate the new levels of collaboration and clean energy advancement,” the RNP wrote in a press statement addressing the FERC order.
On the other side of the issue, the Public Power Council issued a press statement expressing concern that the FERC order could impact ratepayers by forcing BPA to pay for wind energy that is not needed and may not even be generated during the extraordinary high water periods when surplus hydro-power is being produced.
“While FERC’s position is not a surprise, we believe it is misguided and jumps ahead of regional efforts to resolve the issue,” Scott Corwin, executive director of the PPC said. “We will now evaluate our next legal steps. At the same time we hope to continue to work with all regional partners to try to resolve these issues in a way that continues to protect fish and does not unfairly hit ratepayers.”
Corwin said while the FERC ruling called for BPA to adopt a new policy within 90 days, the order stopped short of telling the agency what that new approach might be.
Since the BPA’s existing policy was set to expire in March, Corwin said the agency has already been in discussions with partners about alternatives for some time.
NWPCC seeks comments on State of Columbia Basin draft
A draft annual report offered this week by the Northwest Power and Conservation Council for public takes a look back at everything from the effectiveness of its fish and wildlife program to power system happenings during fiscal year 2011, which ends at the end of the month.
The draft report, “State of the Columbia River Basin, provides an overview of the Council’s planning activities regarding electricity in the Pacific Northwest and fish and wildlife in the Columbia River basin in fiscal year 2011, as well as information about salmon and steelhead returns to the basin in calendar year 2010 and the effectiveness of the Council’s Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program.”
The Council’s approval of the draft during its meeting Wednesday in Astoria begins a 90-day comment period. Comments will help shape a final version of the annual report, which will be forwarded to Congress in January. The annual report is required by the Northwest Power Act of 1980, the federal law that authorized the states of Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington to create the Council.
The report notes that fiscal year 2011 was cooler and damper than normal in the Pacific Northwest, which resulted in high snowpack and runoff to fuel the region’s Columbia/Snake River hydro system. An abundance of hydropower in spring and early summer led to controversy over the shutting down by the Bonneville Power Administration of wind turbines to accommodate the geneneration. BPA markets power generated in the federal Columbia River System and controls most of the region’s power transmission system.
The draft report includes an update on salmon and steelhead returns to the Columbia River, which in 2010 continued the trend of recent years, with most runs equaling or surpassing average run sizes for the previous 10 years.
During 2011 the Council and staff completed a review process by recommending funding for a total of 143 research and monitoring projects, some new and some ongoing, to improve scientific knowledge about fish and wildlife throughout the Columbia River Basin. The estimated annual costs of the projects is $100 million. BPA funds the NPCC program with ratepayer revenues as mititation for impacts to fish and wildlife caused by the hydro system.
In recommending the projects to Bonneville, the Council emphasized that some are experimental and funding beyond the first year will depend on demonstrated effectiveness. Information about the projects is on the Council website at www.nwcouncil.org.
The report also includes specific information about the Council’s activities, organized around the Council’s major responsibilities. The report concludes with information about the Council’s budget and administration.
OR, WA projects net federal funds to advance hydropower
Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced nearly $17 million in funding over the next three years for research and development projects to advance hydropower technology.
Sixteen projects in 11 states were selected through a competitive grant process for their ability to contribute to the development of innovative technologies that produce hydropower more efficiently, reduce costs, and increase sustainable hydropower generation.
The funding will help advance the Obama Administration’s goal of meeting 80 percent of our electricity needs from clean energy sources by 2035.
In Oregon, Earth by Design of Bend will receive $1.5 million from the Department of Energy to develop and test a new low-head modular hydropower technology in a canal in the North Unit Irrigation District to produce cost-competitive electricity. The Departments of Energy and the Interior are co-funding California-based Natel Energy with $746,000 to deploy and test a scaled-up version of the modular Schneider Linear hydroEngine at a Bureau of Reclamation facility in Madras, Oregon, validating the commercial performance and economic feasibility of the device in a low-head constructed waterway.
Kennewick, Washington-based Percheron Power will receive $1.5 million jointly funded by the Departments of Energy and the Interior to install the nation’s first Archimedes Hydrodynamic Screw hydropower system in Potholes East Canal. The system may eventually be deployed at low-head sites throughout the Columbia Basin Project and in other man-made waterways.
Also, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington, will be awarded nearly $300,000 from the Department of Energy to re-design the Sensor Fish, a data collection device that measures movement, acceleration, rotation, and pressure changes on the device as it passes through a hydropower turbine, providing more information on the forces that a fish may encounter. The new Sensor Fish device, expected to be smaller and cheaper than previous devices, could be deployed through a wide range of model and prototype turbine testing, allowing for improved designs safer for fish passage.
These projects, say the agencies, “will advance sustainable renewable energy generation from small (less than 30 megawatts) hydropower resources, spur deployment of pumped storage hydropower, enhance environmental performance of hydropower, and test innovative, cost-effective technologies for hydropower development at low-head (less than a 30 foot drop) sites such as irrigation canals and non-powered dams.” Chu said, “By improving and deploying advanced hydropower technologies, we can maximize our use of this proven clean energy resource, create jobs, and reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. Hydropower can be used to store energy to help utilities better integrate other sources of renewable energy like wind and solar into the grid, improving our energy security and diversifying our clean energy resources.”
NOAA initiative to increase of domestic aquaculture output
During a wet and cool April and May – a time when the Columbia River basin’s water stores usually begin to drain – estimated runoff volumes were boosted by more than 23 million acre feet of water, according to Bonneville Power Administration officials.
Peter Cogswell, Steve Oliver and Rick Pendergrass on Tuesday briefed the Northwest Power and Conservation Council on the current status of the Federal Columbia River Power System and how its dams are being operated to meet power generation, salmon protection, flood control and other demands in what is one of the highest runoff seasons in many years.
Low elevation meltdown has fueled high flows in recent weeks. But mid and high elevation snowpacks across the Columbia-Snake river continued building into the spring season and now hold in excess of 150 to 175 percent of average moisture content. “We expect that to come off here in the next six to eight weeks,” Pendergrass said.
“It is a very unusual occurrence” for the basin to experience such a period of sustained high flows. 2011 flows have been nearly as high as in 1997 when the highest runoff on record flowed down from the Snake and upper Columbia River.
The Northwest River Forecast Center’s June 7 final water supply forecast is for a runoff volume from April through September of 134 million acre feet past The Dalles Dam on the lower Columbia. That would be 136 percent of normal and the fourth largest volume on the 41-year record. The highest volume was 140.9 MAF in 1997, followed by 139.7 MAF in 1974 and 134.8 MAF in 1972.
The wet spring resulted in The Dalles forecast being boosted considerably. The April 7 final forecast was for 107 MAF, which would have been 108 percent of the 30-year average runoff during the April-September period.The Snake River basin is particularly laden. The new NWRFC forecast predicts 37.3 MAF will flush down from the upper Snake and past Lower Granite dam in southeast Washington. That would be 155 percent of average for the April-September period. Lower Granite is the fourth dam upstream from the Snake’s confluence with the Columbia.
The reservoir backed up by Dworshak Dam in west-central Idaho is expected to receive 142 percent of its average inflows. Dworshak is on the North Fork of the Clearwater, which feeds into the Clearwater and then the Snake upstream of Lower Granite. Grand Coulee Dam inflows are predicted to total 80.4 MAF this year, which would be 126 percent of average.The high flows so far have forced dam operators to spill even more water to provide passage for juvenile salmon and steelhead headed for the ocean. Bonneville has since May 18 been forced to implement its new “environmental redispatch policy” for parts of all but two days.
The policy calls on non-hydro energy flowing into the transmission grid, including fossil-fuel and other thermal generation and wind energy, to be partially and temporarily limited so that hydro production can be maximized during low power demand periods. Running more water through the turbines reduces the volume that has to be spilled. Spill stirs up “total dissolved gas,” which can be harmful to fish.
A total of 59,313 megawatt hours of energy had been displaced as a result of the redispatches, Pendergrass said. With an uptick in Snake River runoff, much of the responsibility for holding down flows past Bonneville Dam has been shifted to the mid-Columbia’s Grand Coulee Dam in central Washington.
BPA: Wind energy curtailed 6.2% of scheduled output
Wind energy projects in the Bonneville Power Administration system have curtailed 6.2 percent of their scheduled output since BPA began intermittent limits on coal, natural gas and other thermal and wind generation to help manage an oversupply of electricity during the highest Columbia River runoff in more than a decade.
BPA’s interim environmental redispatch policy typically affected wind generation at night and on weekends when power demand dropped, according to an initial review of the first several weeks with the policy in place. The policy first took effect May 18 and continued as high water drove hydroelectric generation at Columbia River dams.
Most thermal generation in BPA’s system has remained off-line in recent weeks. The Energy Information Administration recently reported that the Northwest this year has burned 68 percent less natural gas to generate electricity than last year.
Some increases in power demand, improved cooperation among utilities and other steps by BPA have helped mitigate the impact on wind generation in recent weeks, agency officials say. The curtailments will likely continue to decline as runoff eases, so the share of wind energy affected will be further reduced when considered over a full year. BPA’s most recent initiatives have included:
- An agreement with Alcoa to adjust power use at the Intalco Works aluminum smelter in Ferndale, Wash., to help balance electricity demand, allowing more generation of wind energy in certain conditions.
- A new BPA business practice that frees transmission customers from replacing power lost as it passes through transmission lines, reducing incoming electricity and allowing for more hydroelectric and wind energy in the BPA system.
“We’ve tried for more than a year to find ways to minimize the impacts of high runoff on wind generation and we’re still looking for solutions from every angle,” said BPA Administrator Steve Wright. “We are by no means out of the woods yet, but we’re working to maintain wind’s important contribution to the Northwest power system.”
The Northwest River Forecast Center projects that Columbia Basin runoff this year will exceed runoff in all but two of the last 40 years, with 137 percent of average flow expected at The Dalles. Hydroelectric dams generate large amounts of electricity in such conditions because reducing output would send more water through dam spillways, increasing dissolved gases that can harm fish.
The Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation have managed this year’s extraordinarily high flows for multiple purposes, including flood risk reduction.
The environmental redispatch policy allows BPA to limit the output of coal, natural gas and other thermal power plants to keep the electricity supply in line with demand and maintain the reliability of the power grid. As a last resort, BPA may also temporarily limit wind generation when there is insufficient demand for the power. In many cases BPA has limited only a portion of wind generation. BPA replaces any curtailed wind or thermal generation with free federal hydropower.
BPA has also held wind energy producers more closely to their scheduled power output because the high water has left hydroelectric dams with less flexibility to adjust to unexpected ups and downs in wind generation.
Real-time data on generation in BPA’s system and daily updates on environmental redispatch are available on BPA’s website at bpa.gov.
2011 now fourth largest runoff in 41 years
During a wet and cool April and May – a time when the Columbia River basin’s water stores usually begin to drain – estimated runoff volumes were boosted by more than 23 million acre feet of water, according to Bonneville Power Administration officials.
Peter Cogswell, Steve Oliver and Rick Pendergrass on Tuesday briefed the Northwest Power and Conservation Council on the current status of the Federal Columbia River Power System and how its dams are being operated to meet power generation, salmon protection, flood control and other demands in what is one of the highest runoff seasons in many years.
Low elevation meltdown has fueled high flows in recent weeks. But mid and high elevation snowpacks across the Columbia-Snake river continued building well into the spring season and now hold in excess of 150 to 175 percent of average moisture content. “We expect that to come off here in the next six to eight weeks,” Pendergrass said.
“It is a very unusual occurrence” for the basin to experience such a period of sustained high flows. 2011 flows have been nearly as high as in 1997 when the highest runoff on record flowed down from the Snake and upper Columbia River.
The Northwest River Forecast Center’s June 7 final water supply forecast is for a runoff volume from April through September of 134 million acre feet past The Dalles Dam on the lower Columbia. That would be 136 percent of normal and the fourth largest volume on the 41-year record. The highest volume was 140.9 MAF in 1997, followed by 139.7 MAF in 1974 and 134.8 MAF in 1972.
The wet spring resulted in The Dalles forecast being boosted considerably. The April 7 final forecast was for 107 MAF, which would have been 108 percent of the 30-year average runoff during the April-September period.The Snake River basin is particularly laden. The new NWRFC forecast predicts 37.3 MAF will flush down from the upper Snake and past Lower Granite dam in southeast Washington. That would be 155 percent of average for the April-September period. Lower Granite is the fourth dam upstream from the Snake’s confluence with the Columbia.
The reservoir backed up by Dworshak Dam in west-central Idaho is expected to receive 142 percent of its average inflows. Dworshak is on the North Fork of the Clearwater, which feeds into the Clearwater and then the Snake upstream of Lower Granite.
Grand Coulee Dam inflows are predicted to total 80.4 MAF this year, which would be 126 percent of average.The high flows so far have forced dam operators to spill even more water to provide passage for juvenile salmon and steelhead headed for the ocean.
Bonneville has since May 18 been forced to implement its new “environmental redispatch policy” for parts of all but two days.
The policy calls on non-hydro energy flowing into the transmission grid, including fossil-fuel and other thermal generation and wind energy, to be partially and temporarily limited so that hydro production can be maximized during low power demand periods. Running more water through the turbines reduces the volume that has to be spilled. Spill stirs up “total dissolved gas,” which can be harmful to fish.
A total of 59,313 megawatt hours of energy had been displaced as a result of the redispatches, Pendergrass said.
With an uptick in Snake River runoff, much of the responsibility for holding down flows past Bonneville Dam has been shifted to the mid-Columbia’s Grand Coulee Dam in central Washington.
Support for hydroelectric power and dams unwavering
A RiverPartners recent public opinion survey once again shows huge public support for hydro as a renewable resource and the Snake River dams. Over 50 percent of citizens believe electricity from hydro generation is the most practical source for the northwest with wind at 23 percent. Over 70 percent favor or strongly favor Congress and state legislatures indentifying it as a renewable resource. On the Snake dams, 73 percent believe the dams should not be removed. Summary results of the survey are available at nwriverpartners.org.
With high runoff, BPA trying to deal with ‘over-generation’
The Columbia River system could see more runoff this spring than it has in a decade. It will also likely see more wind generation than it has ever seen before.
Bonneville Power Administration officials say such a situation could pose unique challenges for dam operators, whose goal is to operate the hydro system reliably and keep water conditions safe for fish.
BPA says it is taking steps now to help it achieve these goals, should the forecasts prove accurate.
Depending on when and how quickly the snowpack melts, BPA could at times end up with more water for the hydro system than it needs. Power systems rely on a constant balance of energy production and consumption. So when faced with a surplus, BPA must either reduce generation or find consumers to absorb the extra power.
At the same time, BPA’s integration of renewable resources has greatly increased the amount of generation that may be online during high runoff, increasing the frequency and magnitude of “overgeneration” conditions.
Spill is one tool BPA uses to balance generation and consumption – and spill often helps young fish migrate downriver. But too much spill can lead to excessive levels of dissolved gas in the rivers, which can harm fish. So BPA officials says the agency is taking additional measures. Since spring runoff began April 1, BPA has:
- Adjusted non-essential maintenance on transmission lines so that maximum capacity is available to carry large amounts of power to consumers.
- Deferred non-essential hydro generation outages and maintenance activities.
- Executed contracts with other power producers to sell low-cost federal hydroelectric power.
- Implemented spill at federal hydro projects within prevailing water quality standards.
- Operated Grand Coulee Dam inefficiently at night when power consumption is lowest.
- Asked Energy Northwest to begin a refueling outage of Columbia Generating Station – the region’s only nuclear plant – several days earlier than planned, reducing the generation feeding BPA’s transmission system by about 1,000 megawatts.
- Sold significant amounts of energy at zero cost.
BPA says it has worked with thermal generators to reduce fossil-fuel generation when necessary to avoid excess power. But given the amount of snowpack this year, the agency may have to reduce wind generation as well.
In February, BPA sought public comment on a proposal to protect fish and maintain system reliability during high runoff by temporarily replacing non-federal generation in the region with free federal hydropower. Because wind producers may lose production tax credits or renewable energy credits when wind power is replaced with federal hydropower, BPA has not yet announced a decision on the proposal.
The agency received significant comment on its proposal and says it is determining the appropriate course of action. In the interim, officials say the agency continues to do what it can and consult with other regional utility leaders to minimize the risk of excess generation.
BPA seeks public comment on The Dalles-Goldendale line
The Bonneville Power Administration is inviting public comments on its draft environmental impact statement for a proposed new 500-kilovolt transmission line running from BPA’s existing Big Eddy Substation in The Dalles to a proposed new Knight Substation about four miles northwest of Goldendale, Wash.
The high-voltage Big Eddy-Knight Project is one of four major new transmission lines that BPA has proposed funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and is expected to provide up to 100 construction jobs. The proposed Big Eddy-Knight Transmission Project would add more than 1,150 megawatts of capacity to BPA’s transmission system to accommodate increasing amounts of renewable energy from wind while updating the Northwest power grid.
“Infrastructure such as this is vital to regional and national efforts to deliver renewable energy and enhance our energy independence,” said Larry Bekkedahl, vice president of Engineering and Technical Services. “The jobs associated with the project would also be a welcome boost to local and regional economies.”
Since BPA announced its intent in June 2009 to move forward with an environmental review for this project, the agency has surveyed potential impacts and collected comments from landowners and other stakeholders in the area. The draft EIS assesses the environmental impacts of three alternative transmission line routes about 28 miles long, two substation site options and two fiber-optic cable options. It also outlines mitigation measures that would minimize the project’s potential impacts.
BPA is accepting public comments on the draft EIS until Jan. 28.
All public comments will be considered as BPA refines its environmental analysis. The agency will also continue to work with the Washington Energy Facility Siting Council and the Oregon Department of Energy, as well as with other federal, state, regional, and local agencies, tribes, landowners and interest groups.
The agency expects to complete and publish the final EIS early this summer and then issue a record of decision in late summer 2011 that will explain BPA’s decision about whether to build the project.