State energy initiative is tilting at windmills
Avista Utilities contracts for 35 megawatts of energy from a Northwest wind farm, but when July temperatures peaked at more than 100 degrees, there was no wind.
The same thing happened last December. Average daily temperatures held below freezing for two weeks. Electricity demand peaked Dec. 8 at 1,660 megawatts. There was no wind.
During both periods, the Spokane utility had to fire up all its natural gas-fired turbines, and buy additional electricity on the open market to meet demand. In July, that backup power cost as much as 10 times normal because many other utilities were also in need.
Avista customers did their part to help keep purchases down by reducing consumption as much as 40 megawatts in response to a July 24 appeal for conservation.
Inland Power & Light Co. encountered a different problem. When Inland went out shopping for 10 megawatts of wind power earlier this year, only one of four potential suppliers had the transmission capacity to deliver the energy to the cooperative’s grid.
If the answer to Washington’s future electricity needs is blowing in the wind, then the answer is incomplete. Because of that, and other defects, Washington voters should closely scrutinize Initiative 937. Like many an initiative, 937 imposes a one-size-fits-all solution to an issue far too complex for easy answers.
The measure would require state utilities serving more than 25,000 customers — a class that includes Avista and Inland — to obtain 15 percent of their electricity from renewable resources by 2020. Power from wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal would qualify. Utilities would also be required to identify and purchase cost-effective conservation.
No question these resources will have their place in the 21st Century. The burning of fossil fuels produces greenhouse gases, the cause of global warming, and must be discouraged. Even nuclear power is regaining advocates who think it environmentally preferable to coal.
The Northwest has embraced wind energy. Windmills capable of generating more than 1,059 megawatts of electricity already picket the region’s hillsides, and more are abuilding. The Columbia Gorge creates a superb natural wind tunnel. But as Avista’s experience demonstrates, capacity to generate electricity often does not translate into real kilowatts that can light a home or chill the air.
The region still relies on hydropower and coal to get the most of the work of generating electricity done. In theory, the region was also going to be able to increase or decrease hydropower generation to back up wind when it refused to blow. But managing the Columbia River system for fish has sapped hydropower’s flexibility, especially during drought years. The Bonneville Power Administration, which slapped a moratorium on wind backup commitments last year, is studying just how much more it can do without jeopardizing reliability.
Other entities will provide the service, but at a price. The result, as Inland Chief Executive Officer Kris Mikkelsen says, “You’re going to build two sets of generation.”
Additional transmission construction will also be needed. Bonneville has been adding new lines and substations to connect wind farms to the region’s electrical grid. Those new facilities cost money I-937 backers do not plug into some of the claims made about the alleged cost advantages of alternative resources compared with coal and natural gas.
Overlooked, too, is what has already happened to the cost of wind power as competition for that resource and the equipment to produce it increases. A two-year window for wind farm production tax credits expires at the end of 2007, which has caused 18-month delays in equipment deliveries, and doubled the price. California wants its utilities to have 20 percent of the energy in their electricity to come from renewable resources in 2010, further increasing pressure on prices.
“This will create a permanent sellers’ market,” Mikkelsen says.
Wind and solar energy has two undeniable advantages: the fuel is free and they do not pollute. Improved technology has already done much to bring capital costs for wind down which, coupled with tax credits, drove demand for new wind farm construction. The same kind of progress will inevitably make solar panels cheaper.
Washington utilities have shown they will be ready buyers when costs approach those of more traditional resources. Many, including Avista, have also been among the nation’s leaders in capturing conservation.
I-937 would apply an unnecessary stick to companies that have responded well to carrots.