Wind Power News: Idaho
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They are the products of the organizations or individuals noted and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch.
Idaho Power, wind developer reach agreement
Idaho Power Co. asked the Idaho Public Utilities Commission to approve a 20-year sales agreement with High Mesa Energy LLC, a 40-megawatt wind project near Bliss. Iowa-based High Mesa Energy said the project will be operating by Dec. 28. The developer would be paid a 20-year price of $56.43 per megawatt-hour under the agreement. But the pricing stream would vary throughout the year and even throughout the day, depending on when the energy is delivered to Idaho Power. The rate . . .
More wind turbines planned for Twin Falls County
Where there’s wind, there’s money. In a move to capitalize upon Idaho’s neverending wind supply, Exergy Development Group has announced it plans to add 23 wind energy parks this year throughout the state. Exergy will build four of the projects within Twin Falls County. The company already has seven projects operating in the county. The company wanted to build more, but concerns from the community and environmental groups caused its proposed construction to be cut in half, said Dustin Shivly, . . .
Watch Idaho Legislature for action on wind, natural gas and ORV hunting
Idaho lawmakers have returned to Boise to complete the work they started last year and to begin the projects they will complete next year. I think of the Idaho Legislature as a conveyor belt with issues, causes, problems, opportunities coming in one end and bills, memorials, interim committees, anger, happiness and frustration coming out the other. It can be ugly, imperfect and profound at different times. But as former House Speaker Bruce Newcomb always reminded his colleagues, they always had . . .
BLM seeks comment to make wind, solar more competitive
POCATELLO, Idaho — The Bureau of Land Management wants local people’s opinions on how to make itself more competitive when it comes to solar and wind energy projects. The BLM has started a 60-day comment period to figure out how to create a competitive bidding system for those projects, where land would be leased to the highest bidder. The construction of wind farms in southeastern Idaho has been a controversial process, whether those farms are built on private or public . . .
State legislator weighs in on wind turbine deal
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho — A new ruling by the Idaho Public Utilities Commission has a lot of locals upset, while wind enthusiasts celebrate a big victory. The decision will allow the further progression of a deal between Rocky Mountain Power and wind developer Cedar Creek LLC. But Idaho Rep. Erik Simpson, R-Idaho Falls, says he isn’t happy about the prospect of seeing new wind turbines in Bonneville County. This week, the commission fully approved three of five sales agreements between . . .
BPA and wind developers: Federal energy ruling is wrong for our region
No good deed goes unpunished. The Bonneville Power Administration should be feeling this after going to great lengths to meet the challenges of connecting the enormous expansion of variable wind power to its electrical system and patiently holding regional discussions to resolve lingering disputes. Then came the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission this month, overthrowing this work by asserting that it has the authority to nix BPA’s approach on what to do with its own system when too much generation threatens . . .
Feds rule BPA wind-power shut-off was unfair
Federal regulators Wednesday ruled that the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) had unfairly discriminated against wind-power producers when it ordered periodic shutdowns of their turbines earlier this year. The ruling is a boost to wind-power producers who had argued that Bonneville’s actions violated transmission contracts. Producers said the threat of curtailment orders would inject new economic uncertainty into the development of wind power in the Northwest. “I think the danger was that if this were allowed to continue, it would have . . .
Regulators tell Bonneville Power Administration to stop pulling the plug on wind farms
Federal energy regulators told the Bonneville Power Administration Wednesday that it can no longer discriminate against wind farm owners by cutting off their transmission during periods of excess electricity generation in the region. The decision is a rare defeat for the federal power marketing agency, which sells electricity generated at 31 federal hydroelectric projects in the region to 140 public utilities. BPA also controls three quarters of the high voltage transmission system in the Northwest. During last spring’s massive runoff, . . .
Lawmakers, BPA grapple with energy oversupply; Legislative panel hears concerns about shutting off turbines
OLYMPIA — Oversupply of renewable energy is expected to continue affecting Clark County and Washington, with no clear solution on the horizon, according to Bonneville Power Administration officials. With wind energy farms expanding in the Columbia River Gorge, the federal power marketing agency has struggled with the issue of energy oversupply. The power glut was particularly evident last spring, as runoff from an abundant snowpack reached hydroelectric generating facilities at the same time wind turbine production was peaking. Unable to . . .
Feds attempt to speed complicated process of building power lines
On a brisk October day, Paul Christensen is helping harvest sugar beets on his southern Idaho farm. His work as a Cassia County commissioner keeps him busy, he says, but he still enjoys “playing in the dirt.” He’s not the only one: Cassia is among Idaho’s most productive agricultural counties. That’s partly why it has resisted Gateway West, a power line that would hook like a jack-o-lantern’s grin across about 1,100 miles of southern Wyoming and Idaho. Two utilities proposed . . .
