current northwest energy issues
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Current Northwest Energy Issues. A BPA Customer Perspective Dan James PNWA Summer Meeting June 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 - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
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
