BPA (Bonneville Power Administration) produces hydro power from a system of 31 dams throughout WA, OR, ID and MT. These dams, plus power from the Columbia Nuclear Generating Station have long provided sufficient power for the PNW plus power is sold to all west coast states.
Several years ago the eco-terrorists from the West side of the state of WA were able to get a new law pushed through that required the BPA to buy at least 15% of their power that had come from renewable energy sources. Prior to this new law, 100% of BPA’s power was from renewable energy sources (water and nuclear). That sounded like a wonderful thing, until the fine print was read and it said that hydro power which comes from the dams on the Columbia, Snake, and other dams throughout the PNW could not be counted in the 15% figure.
Now here’s the situation we find ourselves in. The following is from the May/June, 2012 issue of Hotline, the subscriber newsletter published for its customers by Franklin PUD, our local power company.
"Wind farms in the Pacific Northwest which have been built with government subsidies and maintained with tax credits are now getting paid to shut down.
At certain times of the years, there has been an oversupply of renewable power. The problem arises in late spring and early summer when rapid snow melt fills the Columbia River Basin, while at the same time , the wind howls, leading to maximum wind and hydro power production.
Last year when demand could not keep up with supply, BPA (Bonneville Power Administration) shut down geothermal and wind generators for nearly 200 hours over 38 days. The goal was to channel as much water through hydro turbines as possible so that spill levels at the dams could be reduced. In times of high river water volume, “involuntary” spill is often required to pass water downstream.
When shut down, the wind farms do not collect any revenue or renewable energy credits for the lost output. A new BPA policy put in place last spring offered to provide free of charge power to replace the curtailed non-hydro generation, but did not reimburse lost revenues including power revenue and state and federal tax credits.
Due to a new governmental order, BPA is now offering to compensate wind companies for half their lost revenue, at least for this next year. The bill could reach up to $50 million. The extra payout to the wind developers means energy users – our customers at Franklin PUD (Public Utility District) and others in the region – will eventually have to pay more. In essence you are now subsidizing wind developers to build both unneeded plants and also not to operate them in certain circumstances.
BPA can’t shut down the hydroelectric generators because doing so will endanger species of salmon, thanks to overoxygenation of the water that increased water releases can cause.
Traditionally fueled generators, like nuclear fuel, don’t have these problems. They can decrease or increase production as needed. But when they are required to shut down, they also don’t get rewarded for non-production with taxpayer subsidies like their renewable counterparts.
We will continue to stay involved as BPA implements the Oversupply Management Protocol so that any policy adopted is fair to rate payers."
I'm so flipping mad about this. Not only are the danm windmills being built with taxpaper money and subsidized with tax credits, now we're paying them when they aren't needed and are shut down. And they companies that own them are building more and more all the time.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not against energy conservation or geen power, but when it takes all those subsidies to make something like wind power even CLOSE to competing in the marketplace, we've gone too dammmmm far. If I were the king of this country those subsidies would be the first thing to go down the tubes. GRRRRRRRRR.
Several years ago the eco-terrorists from the West side of the state of WA were able to get a new law pushed through that required the BPA to buy at least 15% of their power that had come from renewable energy sources. Prior to this new law, 100% of BPA’s power was from renewable energy sources (water and nuclear). That sounded like a wonderful thing, until the fine print was read and it said that hydro power which comes from the dams on the Columbia, Snake, and other dams throughout the PNW could not be counted in the 15% figure.
Now here’s the situation we find ourselves in. The following is from the May/June, 2012 issue of Hotline, the subscriber newsletter published for its customers by Franklin PUD, our local power company.
"Wind farms in the Pacific Northwest which have been built with government subsidies and maintained with tax credits are now getting paid to shut down.
At certain times of the years, there has been an oversupply of renewable power. The problem arises in late spring and early summer when rapid snow melt fills the Columbia River Basin, while at the same time , the wind howls, leading to maximum wind and hydro power production.
Last year when demand could not keep up with supply, BPA (Bonneville Power Administration) shut down geothermal and wind generators for nearly 200 hours over 38 days. The goal was to channel as much water through hydro turbines as possible so that spill levels at the dams could be reduced. In times of high river water volume, “involuntary” spill is often required to pass water downstream.
When shut down, the wind farms do not collect any revenue or renewable energy credits for the lost output. A new BPA policy put in place last spring offered to provide free of charge power to replace the curtailed non-hydro generation, but did not reimburse lost revenues including power revenue and state and federal tax credits.
Due to a new governmental order, BPA is now offering to compensate wind companies for half their lost revenue, at least for this next year. The bill could reach up to $50 million. The extra payout to the wind developers means energy users – our customers at Franklin PUD (Public Utility District) and others in the region – will eventually have to pay more. In essence you are now subsidizing wind developers to build both unneeded plants and also not to operate them in certain circumstances.
BPA can’t shut down the hydroelectric generators because doing so will endanger species of salmon, thanks to overoxygenation of the water that increased water releases can cause.
Traditionally fueled generators, like nuclear fuel, don’t have these problems. They can decrease or increase production as needed. But when they are required to shut down, they also don’t get rewarded for non-production with taxpayer subsidies like their renewable counterparts.
We will continue to stay involved as BPA implements the Oversupply Management Protocol so that any policy adopted is fair to rate payers."
I'm so flipping mad about this. Not only are the danm windmills being built with taxpaper money and subsidized with tax credits, now we're paying them when they aren't needed and are shut down. And they companies that own them are building more and more all the time.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not against energy conservation or geen power, but when it takes all those subsidies to make something like wind power even CLOSE to competing in the marketplace, we've gone too dammmmm far. If I were the king of this country those subsidies would be the first thing to go down the tubes. GRRRRRRRRR.
