BPA wants to pull plug on turbines
The Portland-based BPA may have to limit production from wind farms to free space in the regional power grid, The Seattle Times reported.
“We’re looking at doing everything we can to avoid the shutdowns, but you have to be able to do something when your back is against the wall,” said Doug Johnson, a BPA spokesman.
The wind-power producers are fighting the proposal that could cost them millions in lost revenue.
“There has been a strong united wind industry voice saying ’This is not reasonable,’” says Roby Roberts, a vice president of Horizon Wind Energy, which has built wind farms in Oregon and Washington.
Wind farms have been sprouting in Washington and Oregon thanks to tax credits and requirements that utilities use more renewable energy. The Northwest farms are capable of producing up to 3,500 megawatts of power — more than triple the energy of the Northwest’s sole nuclear-power plant. And that capacity could double by 2015.
A wind power shutdown would be a last resort, the BPA said, but it has to be ready to balance the flow of energy it markets in the Northwest as well as meeting commitments to ratepayers, helping salmon and selling power outside the region.
The industry says if there are shutdowns it should be compensated for lost revenue.
Related News

OPG, TVA Partner on New Nuclear Technology Development
WASHINGTON - Two of North America's leading nuclear utilities unveiled a pioneering partnership to develop advanced nuclear technology as an integral part of a clean energy future and creating a North American energy hub. Ontario Power Generation and the Tennessee Valley Authority will jointly work to help develop small modular reactors as an effective long-term source of 24/7 carbon-free energy in both Canada and the U.S.
The agreement allows the companies to coordinate their explorations into the design, licensing, construction and operation of small modular reactors.
"As leaders in our industry and nations, OPG and TVA share a common goal to decarbonize energy generation while maintaining reliability and low-cost service, which…