September 17, 2010
Oregon

Portland General enters negotiations to purchase rights to Oregon wind farm

By Amjad Ali, SNL, www.snl.com 17 September 2010

Portland General Electric Co. on Sept. 16 said it entered into a preliminary agreement with Renewable Energy Systems Americas Inc. to negotiate a purchase of the development rights assets for the Rock Creek Wind Farm in Gilliam County, Ore.

RES Americas expects construction to begin as early as 2013 but is more likely to occur in phases beginning in 2014 or 2015.

Under the agreement, Portland General Electric gets exclusive rights to purchase the project through the end of 2010.

According to a news release, RES Americas is pursuing state permits for the proposed project, which would be constructed in eastern Oregon and have a nameplate capacity of 400 MW to 550 MW, depending on the size and number of turbines.

The facility may cover up to 68,000 acres, though most of the land would still be available for agriculture or other productive uses, depending on specific turbine sites, the company said.

Portland General Electric said it has filed a request with the Oregon Public Utility Commission for a waiver of the commission’s competitive bidding guidelines with regard to the project. The company said it is seeking the waiver because of the time needed to complete the competitive bidding process and the short duration of its exclusivity period to act on the opportunity.

“We’re going to need significant new renewable generating resources in coming years as we work to meet Oregon’s renewable energy standards,” said Jim Lobdell, PGE’s vice president for power operations and resource strategy. “Good renewable sites are highly sought after, so we are pleased to have reached preliminary agreement on certain terms with RES Americas and look forward to working with them in the coming months to see if we can arrive at a final agreement that serves our customers’ best interests.”

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2010/09/17/portland-general-enters-negotiations-to-purchase-rights-to-oregon-wind-farm/