Reports related to this article:
Project(s): View 6 related projects in PECWeb
Plant(s): View 6 related plants in PECWeb
Released December 21, 2016 | SUGAR LAND
en
Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Oregon's post-coal electric power future took a step forward last month when a long-planned windfarm in eastern Oregon received a permit from the state's Energy Facility Siting Council (Salem, Oregon). The Saddle Butte Wind Park, under development since 2009, is expected to consist of 133 wind turbines, each with a capacity of 3 megawatts (MW), for a total generating capacity of 399 MW.
The grassroot project, with total investment value of about $800 million, is scheduled to begin construction no later than November 2019, and to be operating by November 2022. The project is being developed by a subsidiary of Caithness Energy LLC (New York, New York).
The Saddle Butte Wind Park will be located entirely on private land in Gilliam and Morrow counties, approximately 20 miles south of the Columbia River. It will utilize an existing 230-kilovolt (kV) transmission corridor and transmission structures previously approved for the Shepherds Flat Wind Farm (now Shepherds Flat North, Shepherds Flat Central and Shepherds Flat South), according to Oregon's Energy Facility Siting Council, which approved the project last month.
If Saddle Butte begins construction before yearend 2017, it would be eligible for about one cent per kilowatt-hour of power generated for a period of up to 10 years. Congress extended the Production Tax Credit (PTC) for five years at the end of 2015, but prorated the size of the credit to the project's construction start date. Projects that begin construction in 2019 would be eligible for 40% of the 2.3 cents per kWh credit, or slightly less than one cent per kWh generated. For more on the extension of the PTC, see December 21, 2015, article - Renewable, Alternative Energy Industries Cheer Extensions of Tax Credits.
Industrial Info is tracking 42 active wind, solar and hydroelectric energy projects under development in Oregon, with aggregate value of about $7.91 billion. These projects exceed 10,000 MW of generating capacity. Included in this list are grassroot wind and solar energy projects, as well as grassroot hydro-pumped storage and hydro plant refurbishment projects, according to Industrial Info's North American Industrial Project Platform.
Many of these proposed projects have been on the books for years. But renewable energy projects got a shot of life earlier this year when Oregon doubled its renewable portfolio standard (RPS) to 50% by 2040, while also phasing out utilities' ability to provide coal-fired electricity to residents of Oregon. For more on this, see March 23, 2016, article - Oregon Bans Coal, Doubles its Renewables Mandate.
That Oregon law requires the state's two affected utilities, Portland General Electric (PGE) (NYSE:POR) (Portland, Oregon) and Pacific Power (Portland, Oregon), a unit of Berkshire Hathaway Incorporated (NYSE:BRK.A) (Omaha, Nebraska), to remove coal-fired power from their Oregon resource portfolios, according to different timelines. After their respective deadlines, these utilities will not be allowed to supply their Oregon customers with any coal-fired power, whether it was generated in the state or outside it. Pacific Power will remove coal from its Oregon energy mix by 2030, while PGE will eliminate coal-fired power from its Oregon resource portfolio by 2035.
Right now, Oregon reportedly gets about 33% of its electricity from coal-fired plants Renewable energy, on the other hand, provides about 8% of the state's electricity.
In addition to the 42 renewable active wind, solar and hydro energy projects under development in Oregon, Industrial Info is tracking another 40 wind, solar and hydro projects valued at $15.83 billion that have been cancelled or placed on hold. It is possible some of these projects will be reactivated by Oregon's doubling of its RPS.
Before the law was enacted, PGE had committed to closing its Boardman coal-fired plant by 2020. The utility owns 90% of Boardman, about 518 MW of generating capacity. PGE also will be required to divest its 20% stake in Montana's Colstrip Power Station, which amounts to about 296 MW. PGE also owns about 33 MW in the Centralia plant, located in Washington State, which must be divested.
PGE is expected to issue a bid for more than 500 MW of new renewables next year, and the Saddle Butte project may bid for some of that generation. However, a windfarm of Saddle Butte's size reportedly has not been completed in four years, as property owners have objected to large wind facilities.
In a March 2016 update to its integrated resource plan (IRP), Pacific Power said it plans to close Unit 3 of its Naughton Power Station, located in Wyoming, at the end of 2017, and its stake of Unit 4 of the Cholla Power Station, located in Arizona, at the end of 2024. Those two units total about 724 MW of coal-fired generating capacity.
"By banning use of coal-fired generation, the state of Oregon has hitched its wagon to renewables," said Britt Burt, Industrial Info's vice president of research for the Global Power Industry. "Some of this new generation will have to be backed up by gas-fired generation, but some could be backed up by hydroelectric generation. It looks like developers will have a few good years of project development in the Beaver State."
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com.
The grassroot project, with total investment value of about $800 million, is scheduled to begin construction no later than November 2019, and to be operating by November 2022. The project is being developed by a subsidiary of Caithness Energy LLC (New York, New York).
The Saddle Butte Wind Park will be located entirely on private land in Gilliam and Morrow counties, approximately 20 miles south of the Columbia River. It will utilize an existing 230-kilovolt (kV) transmission corridor and transmission structures previously approved for the Shepherds Flat Wind Farm (now Shepherds Flat North, Shepherds Flat Central and Shepherds Flat South), according to Oregon's Energy Facility Siting Council, which approved the project last month.
If Saddle Butte begins construction before yearend 2017, it would be eligible for about one cent per kilowatt-hour of power generated for a period of up to 10 years. Congress extended the Production Tax Credit (PTC) for five years at the end of 2015, but prorated the size of the credit to the project's construction start date. Projects that begin construction in 2019 would be eligible for 40% of the 2.3 cents per kWh credit, or slightly less than one cent per kWh generated. For more on the extension of the PTC, see December 21, 2015, article - Renewable, Alternative Energy Industries Cheer Extensions of Tax Credits.
Industrial Info is tracking 42 active wind, solar and hydroelectric energy projects under development in Oregon, with aggregate value of about $7.91 billion. These projects exceed 10,000 MW of generating capacity. Included in this list are grassroot wind and solar energy projects, as well as grassroot hydro-pumped storage and hydro plant refurbishment projects, according to Industrial Info's North American Industrial Project Platform.
Many of these proposed projects have been on the books for years. But renewable energy projects got a shot of life earlier this year when Oregon doubled its renewable portfolio standard (RPS) to 50% by 2040, while also phasing out utilities' ability to provide coal-fired electricity to residents of Oregon. For more on this, see March 23, 2016, article - Oregon Bans Coal, Doubles its Renewables Mandate.
That Oregon law requires the state's two affected utilities, Portland General Electric (PGE) (NYSE:POR) (Portland, Oregon) and Pacific Power (Portland, Oregon), a unit of Berkshire Hathaway Incorporated (NYSE:BRK.A) (Omaha, Nebraska), to remove coal-fired power from their Oregon resource portfolios, according to different timelines. After their respective deadlines, these utilities will not be allowed to supply their Oregon customers with any coal-fired power, whether it was generated in the state or outside it. Pacific Power will remove coal from its Oregon energy mix by 2030, while PGE will eliminate coal-fired power from its Oregon resource portfolio by 2035.
Right now, Oregon reportedly gets about 33% of its electricity from coal-fired plants Renewable energy, on the other hand, provides about 8% of the state's electricity.
In addition to the 42 renewable active wind, solar and hydro energy projects under development in Oregon, Industrial Info is tracking another 40 wind, solar and hydro projects valued at $15.83 billion that have been cancelled or placed on hold. It is possible some of these projects will be reactivated by Oregon's doubling of its RPS.
Before the law was enacted, PGE had committed to closing its Boardman coal-fired plant by 2020. The utility owns 90% of Boardman, about 518 MW of generating capacity. PGE also will be required to divest its 20% stake in Montana's Colstrip Power Station, which amounts to about 296 MW. PGE also owns about 33 MW in the Centralia plant, located in Washington State, which must be divested.
PGE is expected to issue a bid for more than 500 MW of new renewables next year, and the Saddle Butte project may bid for some of that generation. However, a windfarm of Saddle Butte's size reportedly has not been completed in four years, as property owners have objected to large wind facilities.
In a March 2016 update to its integrated resource plan (IRP), Pacific Power said it plans to close Unit 3 of its Naughton Power Station, located in Wyoming, at the end of 2017, and its stake of Unit 4 of the Cholla Power Station, located in Arizona, at the end of 2024. Those two units total about 724 MW of coal-fired generating capacity.
"By banning use of coal-fired generation, the state of Oregon has hitched its wagon to renewables," said Britt Burt, Industrial Info's vice president of research for the Global Power Industry. "Some of this new generation will have to be backed up by gas-fired generation, but some could be backed up by hydroelectric generation. It looks like developers will have a few good years of project development in the Beaver State."
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com.
