current northwest energy issues

Current Northwest Energy Issues

A BPA Customer PerspectiveDan James

PNWA Summer MeetingJune 23, 2014

BPA Customers• Consumer owned, not-for-profit utilities who buy

electricity from the Bonneville Power Administration

• A legal and historic first right to federal power at cost

– Electric Cooperatives– Public Utility Districts– Municipal Utilities– Tribal Utilities– * Direct Service Industries

PNGC Power Members

Power Systems 101

Take-aways1. The electrical system must reliably provide power

to keep the lights on– Power is provided by generating capacity

2. Generator output must exactly match demand for electricity every 4 seconds

– Need flexible/controllable generation

3. Interconnected power systems create opportunities and risks

Let’s talk generators

Hydro turbine - generator

Steam turbine - generator

Electricity

Generator Capacity• A generator can produce power up to its

nameplate capacity – power output– Actual power output depends on generator

type, fuel availability, etc.

• Power output is measured in Watts– kW = 1,000 watts, MW = 1,000,000 Watts

Hydro

Flexible and controllable (with lake storage)

Coal

Thermal - Generally fixed with some control (with coal pile storage)

Boardman Coal Project, OR

Natural gas

Thermal - Flexible and controllable (limited by pipeline capacity)Rathdrum Power Project, ID

Nuclear

Thermal - Generally fixed with minimal control (long term fuel storage)

Columbia Generating Station, WA

Geothermal

Thermal - Generally fixed with minimal control (no fuel storage)

Raft River Geothermal, ID

Wind

Intermittent with minimal control (near term predictability with no fuel storage)Known as Variable Energy Resources (VERS)

Nine Canyons Wind Project, WA

Solar PhotoVoltaic, or PV

Follows Sun with minimal control (no fuel storage)Also known as Variable Energy Resources (VERS)

Landfill gas-to-electricity

Thermal - Fixed output with some control (no fuel storage)

Coffin Butte Landfill Gas Project, Corvallis OR

Electrical System

100 MW 100 MW

Simple system:Ignores losses & voltage transformations

Generation must match LoadEvery 4 seconds!

Nuclear

Coal

Natural Gas

Morning peak

Evening peak

Wind Ramp

Interconnected systems• Created hourly markets

– Market opportunities and risks• Economic gains / losses

• Exposure to reliability risks– That’s why a power line fault in Idaho can

cause an outage in San Francisco– Complexity

Take-aways1. The electrical system must reliably provide power

to keep the lights on– Power is provided by generating capacity

2. Generator output must exactly match demand for electricity every 4 seconds

– Need flexible/controllable generation

3. Interconnected power systems create opportunities and risks

What matters

• Cost

• Reliability of the system – keeping the lights on

Regional Issues• Federal Columbia River Power System BiOp

• Northwest Power & Conservation Council

– Fish and Wildlife Program Amendments

– 7th Power Plan• Conservation and Energy Efficiency• Governor Inslee’s call for a coal-free energy system

• State Renewable Portfolio Standards

Federal Issues• Columbia River Treaty• Federal Budget

– Protect and defend• Department of Energy / BPA

– Staffing– Standards

• Federal Energy Regulatory Commission– Wind integration– Market

• EPA

Questions?

Dan JamesPNGC Powerdjames@pngcpower.como 503.288.5545m 503.804.2612