PGE banks on renewable energy

Portland Business Journal - 2:24 PM PDT Thursday, July 12, 2007

 

In a new plan filed with state regulators, Portland General Electric Co. said it will meet future demand for power with a mix of renewable resources, programs to boost energy efficiency and continued reliance on agreements to purchase power on the open market.

The Integrated Resource Plan, filed with the Oregon Public Utility Commission , describes PGE's energy supply strategy for 2008 to 2015. It is subject to public comment over the next six months and is subject to approval by the utility commission.

PGE (NYSE: POR) is Oregon's largest utility and serves nearly 800,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers.

The plan took 18 months to develop and will guide PGE as it builds on its portfolio, which includes power generated by hydroelectric projects, natural gas, coal and wind.

• The plan calls for the continued development of the Biglow Canyon wind project in Sherman County, where PGE expects to erect wind turbines with a total maximum generating capacity of as much as 450 megawatts. To be constructed in three phases, Biglow Canyon is expected to supply enough power to support about 100,000 homes, the company said. The first phase is in construction.
• To help meet Oregon's new Renewable Energy Standard, which calls on the company to meet 15 percent of demand with renewable energy by 2015, PGE says it will secure an additional 218 average megawatts of renewable power from unspecified sources.
• The company will increasingly team with the Energy Trust of Oregon to expand energy efficiency programs to meet its goal of reducing demand by 45 megawatts by 2012.
• PGE will reduce its reliance on volatile energy markets by making long term power purchases of five to 10 years in duration. Long-term agreements will help stabilize prices while giving alternative energy technology time to mature and become cost-effective.

The energy plan filed with the PUC is predicated on the assumption that demand will increase by approximately 2.2 percent per year. Combined with the expiration of existing supply contracts, PGE says its own generating facilities will fall an average of 818 megawatts short of meeting customer demand by the year 2012.

The resource plan identifies promising technology that may become feasible in the future, but which is not currently included in PGE's power generation plan. It includes wave energy, solar and clean coal.

The complete plan is available at www.PortlandGeneral.com.