Document text
0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Southern Oregon Historical Society to ask county for $400,000 ... Gov. Brown: 'Hold the line' on more casinos in Oregon ... Purse snatching attempt injures 80-year-old woman at Medford Lowe's ... Southern Oregon Historical Society to ask county for $400,000 ... Gov. Brown: 'Hold the line' on more casinos in Oregon ... Purse snatching attempt injures 80-year-old woman at Medford Lowe's ... UTILITIES Pacific Power looks to wind, solar, conservation to replace coal Comment By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Follow @@GregMTBusiness MailTribune.com By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Follow @@GregMTBusiness Posted Mar. 31, 2016 at 5:07 PM By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Follow @@GregMTBusiness Posted Mar. 31, 2016 at 5:07 PM » Social News With state mandates hastening the end of coal-powered electricity in Oregon, Pacific Power and other utilities are stepping up efforts to develop renewable energy sources, including here in Southern Oregon. Gov. Kate Brown signed legislation in March to end the use of electricity generated from coal in Oregon by 2030. The bill also requires the state to get at least 50 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2040. "Fifteen years for a lot of folks is a long time," said Scott Bolton, Pacific Power's external affairs vice president. "Fifteen years in utility planning is the next plan; we plan in 10-, 20-year increments. We weren't caught flatfooted, this is a transition that has been under way for 10 years now. If you go back to 2004 and earlier, we were over 80 percent coal; today we're about 60 percent coal." With looming environmental regulations, coupled with operation, maintenance and compliance challenges of aging power plants, change is coming at an accelerating pace, Bolton said. "In some ways, 2030 is a pretty good sweet spot to move the state off of coal, if that's where policymakers and Oregonians want to go," he said. "Every survey we've seen suggests that is where over 70 percent of Oregonians want to go." A 44-acre, 9.9-megawatt solar farm has been proposed by Santa Monica, Calif.-based Cypress Creek Renewables on a 68-acre site on McLoughlin Drive, between Highway 62 and Foothill Road, and one mile north of Vilas Road. The Jackson County commissioners will hold a hearing on the project April 6. "We expect a lot of solar in Southern Oregon and Southern Utah," Bolton said. "The thing with renewables is that it really is more geography-driven than traditional power plants, where you just want to be out of the way. You want to be somewhere close to where you serve load, but you didn't want to disturb the surroundings; renewables are a little more picky." Rather than incremental investment in coal plants in Utah, Wyoming, Colorado and Montana — states where coal is readily accessible — the company will invest in renewable energy production in the Columbia Gorge and the Columbia Plateau in southeastern Washington, which are windy regions with access to transmission facilities, Bolton said. "As the coal plants start to retire, there is amazingly good wind resources in eastern Wyoming near Casper that right now you can't actually use because there isn't access to transmission," he said. No matter the energy source, Bolton said, it usually encounters hurdles. "There is a trade-off for everything," he said. "Coal's got its issues, natural gas has got its issues, especially around the development with fracking and methane escape. When you look at wind turbines, you do have bird and bat issues that have to be mitigated. We have programs where we have projects around sensitive bird habitat, especially during different seasons where we will have spotters out there and adjust operations, because we don't want to hurt birds." With little time to negotiate with Oregon lawmakers during the short legislative session and ballot measures ensuring spikes in electrical bills, energy companies struck a deal to mitigate the financial hit, Bolton said. Once the coal-powered plants were paid off, the utility would have had to ignore their existence, resulting in hastened almost every-other-year decommissioning of the plants between 2023 and 2032, he said, costing Pacific Power customers more than $600 million. "What we were able to do through the negotiation is instead of a staggered, clumsy transition from coal, we just set the date — 2030," Bolton said. "If we pay off a plant early between now and 2030, our customers get the benefit of very low-cost power up until that point, and then we'll turn it off. That makes sense, because to go much past 2030 probably means new investment in those coal power plants." Pacific Power will develop enough sources to cover demand, Bolton said, as well as increase efficiency and find ways for customers to conserve. "When you install LED lighting and move off incandescent lighting, that energy savings defers that next increment of power plant investment," he said. "As we transition to electrical vehicles, it's not just more load to charge up batteries, but being able to lean on those batteries during times when we may need to pull more energy into the grid." Pacific Power's parent company, PacifiCorp, on Thursday filed a biennial Integrated Resource Plan update with public utility commissions in the six states where it works. Among changes from the previous IRP was the utility's determination that current market conditions make it more economical to close Unit 3 of the Naughton coal-fueled plant in Wyoming rather than convert it to natural gas as was previously planned. PacifiCorp, however, said it will continue reviewing alternatives for Naughton Unit 3 through 2017. The company said about 87 percent of expected growth in power usage will be met by more efficient customer use. It will also take advantage of renewable energy tax credits to reduce costs. Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 541-776-4463 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GregMTBusiness , and read his blog at www.mailtribune.com/Economic Edge. By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Follow @@GregMTBusiness MailTribune.com By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Follow @@GregMTBusiness Posted Mar. 31, 2016 at 5:07 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... Business Name address Location, ST | website.com Find Southern Oregon Attractions Bars Restaurants Beauty Salons Entertainment Doctors Medical Specialists Contractors Education Lawn Services Lawyers Shopping Travel Tanning Used Cars Wedding Services ▼ Add your business here + Events Calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2016 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. MailTribune.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501