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New wind energy development is off to a slow start in 2013, following a surge of projects last year that added 1,700 megawatts of generation across the Pacific Northwest.
The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) this week released a new proposal to share the "oversupply costs" that pile up when there is not enough demand for all the electricity produced by hydroelectric dams and wind-power producers.
During these oversupply periods, when wind-power producers may be asked to shut down, the plan would compensate them for lost revenue, according to Doug Johnson, a BPA spokesman.
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Wind power surpasses hydro for the first time ever in Northwest region
October 26, 2012 by Ted Sickinger in The Oregonian
October 26, 2012 by Ted Sickinger in The Oregonian
Last Tuesday morning, wind farms plugged into the Bonneville Power Administration's transmission network hit a new generation record of 4,289 megawatts. In fact, earlier the same morning, wind farms exceeded the output of the federal hydroelectric system... there was no brouhaha over excess energy supply as there was last spring. Everyone went about their business and got paid.
This month marks the 12th anniversary of designation of the remote Steens Mountain country of southeast Oregon as a protected area, some of it as federal wilderness. But conservation groups are in court, trying to keep wind turbines and transmission lines off the mountain.
Obama blocks Chinese firm's Oregon wind farm projects
September 29, 2012 by Neela Banerjee and Don Lee in Los Angeles Times
September 29, 2012 by Neela Banerjee and Don Lee in Los Angeles Times
The wind farm sites are all in or near restricted airspace at the Naval Weapons Systems Training Facility in Boardman, Ore. ...The interagency Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States initially recommended against allowing the transaction in July. But only the president can halt an acquisition.
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Barack Obama said he had decided that Ralls, the company behind the project, "might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States," and ordered it to sell its four sites and remove its equipment.
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Obama ordered Ralls Corp., a company owned by Chinese nationals, to divest its interest in development rights for the small wind farms -- with just five turbines each --near the Naval Weapons Systems Training Facility. ...Ralls said it would lose the chance for $25 million in federal renewable energy investment tax incentives if the farms weren't running by Dec. 31.
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Obama to Rule on Chinese-Owned Company's Wind-Farm Bid
September 21, 2012 by Sara Forden in Bloomberg News
September 21, 2012 by Sara Forden in Bloomberg News
After conducting an investigation, CFIUS issued an order on July 25 citing "national security risks" raised by the sale of the assets to Ralls and directing the company to stop all construction and operations at the wind-farm locations, according to the filing. ...If the wind farms aren't in service by Dec. 31, then the company won't be able to obtain $25 million in federal investment tax incentives, according to the court filing.
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Wind accounts for 10.5 percent of electricity generated in Oregon
August 15, 2012 by Ted Sickinger in The Oregonian
August 15, 2012 by Ted Sickinger in The Oregonian
Wind generation accounts for less than 5 percent of the electricity consumed in Oregon. The lion's share comes from hydroelectric dams, natural gas and coal-fired power plants, and much of that power is generated out of state. Likewise, much of the wind power generated in Oregon is under contract with utilities in California.
Election-year politics and a soon-to-expire federal energy tax credit program could stall or scuttle a proposed wind farm on the gusty open bluffs of northeastern Oregon. The Senate Finance Committee voted 19-5 in favor of a one-year, but the Senate and House must make the final decision to renew.
Congress has seesawed in its attitude toward the credit, originally part of the Energy Policy Act of 1992.
EPUD prevails in legal dispute; A panel awards the utility a refund on a wind power fee
July 27, 2012 by Christian Wihtol in The Register-Guard
July 27, 2012 by Christian Wihtol in The Register-Guard
EPUD has said it was expecting that by late 2011 its customer base would have grown and customers would need that extra power.
But they don't, and the California buyer doesn't want it either, meaning EPUD now must keep buying the power from the wind farm at contract rates and sell it on the open market, where prices have plunged, EPUD said.
In the tug of war over wind power, Steens Mountain is a line in the sand
July 26, 2012 by Eric Flowers in The Source Weekly
July 26, 2012 by Eric Flowers in The Source Weekly
Wind power, a darling of the renewable energy industry, is getting a push back from ranchers like Davies and conservationists. They worry that the rush to harness wind will have long-term negative impacts on some of America's last unspoiled places. That includes the area around Steens Mountain where impacts to raptors and threatened sage grouse cannot always be fully mitigated.
Residents of Blake Ranch, a small Morrow County community, protested plans Wednesday for a 310 wind-turbine farm.
The four stood with signs outside Heppner City Hall, where Chicago-based wind power developer Invenergy, LLC at the second of two public information sessions unveiled its plans for 61,000 acres east of Heppner.
Lawsuit against wind energy project near Steens Mountain pits green groups against green project
May 3, 2012 by Richard Cockle in The Oregonian
May 3, 2012 by Richard Cockle in The Oregonian
Rancher Hoyt Wilson's remote Mann Lake Ranch headquarters has Steens Mountain's north end for its backdrop. The breathtaking panorama that has gone unchanged since the Western frontier may one day be dominated by dozens of 415-foot-tall wind turbines, part of a $300 million renewable energy project. The project pits spectacular scenery against the production of energy.
BPA orders NW wind farms to curtail production
April 29, 2012 by Steven Dubois in San Francisco Chronicle
April 29, 2012 by Steven Dubois in San Francisco Chronicle
The agency, which manages much of the power grid in the Northwest, confirmed it issued the orders during the early morning hours of Sunday and Monday, when demand is low.
The action rekindles a dispute from last year, when the agency curtailed wind turbines because the water from a large mountain snowpack.
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BPA braces for strong spring runoff, excess power and wind power cuts
April 7, 2012 by Ted Sickinger in The Oregonian
April 7, 2012 by Ted Sickinger in The Oregonian
It's springtime in the Northwest ...Occasionally, it means more hydro and wind electricity is pulsing into the grid than anyone can use.
That's a major problem for wind farm owners ...when BPA can suddenly shut down their output to prevent "over-generation." The cutoffs can mean millions of dollars in lost revenue, and put a cloud over further wind development in the Northwest.
Critics argue that Oregonians should not be asked to sacrifice Steens Mountain to a Washington-based, New York-financed company in order to generate electricity for California. ..."It's hard to find a place like Steens Mountain any more.
Energy company Iberdrola Renewables cited multiple factors for a decision to scale back on new projects. That led directly to layoffs in engineering, construction and development.
"The low energy prices and the regulatory uncertainty here in the U.S. are by far the biggest decision makers," says company spokeswoman Jan Johnson.
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Renewable-energy misery spreads to Vestas, as the Danish wind turbine maker slashes jobs, some in Portland
January 12, 2012 by Richard Read in The Oregonian
January 12, 2012 by Richard Read in The Oregonian
Worldwide, renewable-energy companies are reeling from overcapacity and plunging prices caused by an explosion in manufacturing and competition from low-cost producers in China and other countries. Some big U.S. and European solar companies have gone bankrupt, with more failures expected.
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Whistling Ridge wind farm, just outside Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, gets siting plan vote
October 6, 2011 by Ted Sickinger in The Oregonian
October 6, 2011 by Ted Sickinger in The Oregonian
Critics such as Friends of the Columbia Gorge also contend the company's wildlife and noise surveys were inadequate, and that the minimal amount of energy generated won't be worth the permanent damage ...Five organizations, led by the Seattle Audubon Society, filed this week for regulators to undertake a new analysis of how the project would impact the spotted owl, an endangered species.