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Listen in as Dan Catchpole and Jason Fordney discuss highlights from the energy industry on the northwest and west coast. This episode was recorded on March 21.
NewsData's "People in Power" is an exciting new biweekly podcast that explores issues in the energy industry, featuring expert guests from a wide range of backgrounds. Hosted by veteran energy journalists Jason Fordney and Abigail Sawyer of California Energy Markets and including appearances by writers from sister publication Clearing Up, People in Power will explore trends such as development of a Western wholesale electricity trading market, the transition to a more electrified world of new infrastructure and transportation, renewables integration and reliability, wildfire response and mitigation, and many other topics. "People in Power" draws from an unprecedented pool of expertise and insight in a way never seen before! It's available on all major podcast platforms as well as at www.newsdata.com.
Intro:
Welcome to NewsData's Energy West, a podcast about the energy
industry today and where it's going tomorrow.
Dan Catchpole:
Hello listeners, and welcome to NewsData's Energy West podcast
with me, Dan Catchpole, reporter with NewsData's
Clearing Up and my cohost Jason Fordney, editor with California
Energy Markets.
We're recording this on March 21st, and we're here today, as
always, to make our listeners a little bit
better informed and a little faster about what's going on in the
energy industry in the western
US. Jason, how are you doing today?
Jason Fordney:
I'm great. Dan, how are you?
How's everything up there?
Dan Catchpole:
It's good.
It's rainy up here.
No surprise. You know, it's March in Seattle, so it's rainy.
That's kind of just the usual.
My dog keeps going outside and barking or keeps scratching at
the door to go outside and finally relent.
And I figured out it's because she figured out a new way to get
out of our backyard.
She's this little mousey shepherd and super agile, and she's
like an escape artist.
Jason Fordney:
So looking for some sheep to hurt.
Dan Catchpole:
Yeah, exactly.
She's like, I know they're out there somewhere.
So after we get off, I'm going to go out, and I already put on
my, like, jeans that I can go get muddy in.
And so that's my job after we get off here, I got to go close a
gap in the fence that she figured out how to get
through.
Jason Fordney:
Oh, no. All right.
Well, get your working clothes on.
Dan Catchpole:
Yeah, nothing like work.
I love I actually I love, you know, as long as it's not a cold
rain, I love working in the dirt on a rainy day.
It's just feels, get you reconnect with the earth.
Jason Fordney:
Yeah, I remember this thing called rain from my days on the East
Coast.
I remember it well.
We actually had some here recently, but pretty dry snowpack
almost gone.
Dan Catchpole:
Oh, yeah.
Jason Fordney:
It'll be a dry summer.
Here we go.
Dan Catchpole:
Okay, but let's before we.
We can save that for another day because there will be plenty of
stories.
Dear listeners, we'll come back to you for those in the coming
weeks, months.
So let's see.
Well, I've got some stuff going on in the Northwest, so I'll
just kick us off here.
Jason Fordney:
Go for it.
Dan Catchpole:
So Bonneville Power Administration is pushing back against what
is being called by critics, being called a sweetheart
deal for power prices that an investment firm is seeking.
So the equity firm, Blue Wolf Capital is trying to get the
Intalco aluminum smelter restarted in
Ferndale, Washington, and on Puget Sound.
And they came to BPA with asking for some super low
power rates.
And public power advocates are saying that this would be
illegal.
That it would be offering terms, basically, that would be
competing with the first tier public
power customers that BPA was set up to supply first and
foremost.
But Blue Wolf, you know, they are hustling.
They are lining up supporters from elected officials at federal,
state level and labor leaders to
lobby BPA to approve the rates.
But BPA says that they've offered 100 megawatts of surplus power
market rates, which were significantly
or considerably higher than what Blue Wolf wanted.
And so far, BPA is saying that they're not going to bend, but
there's a lot of people calling
for for BPA to bend on this one.
So we'll see how that plays out.
Meanwhile, BPA has also hired a consulting firm, Energy and
Environmental Economics, based out of
San Francisco, better known as E3.
They've been hired by BPA to conduct a replacement resource
study for the lower Snake River Dam.
So essentially coming up, if the four dams on the lower Snake
River are taken out, what will be required to replace their power
attributes in the Northwest Power System?
So this is happening as the Northwest Power and Conservation
Council considers doing an exhaustive study of that very thing,
what it would take to replace those dams.
Very controversial issue.
A lot of different entities here citing off have very strong
feelings on both sides of this question.
The reason that BPA, though, has gone out and hired E3 to do a
very quick study is because the White House is taking a closer
look at this issue, as are congressional Republicans.
So this is starting to get into the federal spotlight.
And there's the congressional Republicans are concerned that the
White House is looking to
reconsider, rethink what was recommended last year in the
The Columbia River System Operations Environmental Impact Study,
which is a mouthful.
But essentially it was a federal plan for how best to run the
Columbia River power
system, the federally controlled power system.
And the Trump administration put some pressure on this to push
it through quickly.
BPA and others wanted to take some more time.
It's now locked up in litigation.
It's in litigation in courts.
The litigants agreed to put that on pause while these
conversations led by the White House
are happening.
So look for more on that story down the road.
It certainly is far from over.
And I'm sorry, I misspoke.
The EIS Record of Decision came out in 2020.
Jason Fordney:
Do they have any idea what resources would replace it?
I mean, they probably want more renewables.
Dan Catchpole:
Well, the bigger issue is the reliability.
You know, with all the mountains and mountains of renewables
that are going to be coming online to replace thermal
fired resources.
How do you make sure the system stays balanced when you've got
drops or rises in wind
or after solar goes offline?
And so that reliability is in addition to the ancillary services
like balancing and other
services that dispatchable firm hydropower provides.
So there's a lot of different aspects.
Jason Fordney:
Not that easy to replace.
All right interesting.
Dan Catchpole:
Yeah. So and then on top of that, these studies aren't even
scratching into the
other values that the dams provide in terms of navigation, flood
control,
recreation, which are all federally mandated values.
Jason Fordney:
I see.
That's a big, big deal.
Big project.
Dan Catchpole:
Oh, yeah, yeah. This is, like I said, a lot of strong opinions on
both sides.
A lot of vested interests on both sides.
Jason Fordney:
Sure.
Dan Catchpole:
So the Snake River goes up into Idaho where developers there in
the
state of Idaho. That's my segue here.
The developer, LS Power just announced that it plans to build an
800 megawatt wind farm on
federal lands southwest of Twin Falls.
The developers are already working on a 1000 megawatt wind farm
northeast of Twin Falls, so they're going to
bracket Twin Falls with two really big wind farms.
And then nearby in Power County, aptly named Power County, Next
Era Energy
Resources recently announced that it wants to build or I'm sorry
they got approved to start building
Idaho's biggest solar project, a 300 megawatt solar facility
paired with a battery storage system.
So speaking of those renewable developments, we're starting to
see those projects in the Northwest
just get bigger and bigger.
I know those numbers don't really faze people in other areas of
the West, but those are some pretty
big numbers here for the Northwest.
Jason Fordney:
Yeah, and it has implications obviously for reliability and
markets.
And you need better markets to really integrate these things
well, I would think.
Dan Catchpole:
Yeah, the the momentum towards organizing a market in the
Northwest and beyond is just growing and
growing. It might be enough to clear all the hurdles after years
of everybody agreeing
that a market would be good, but nobody being able to agree on
how to get there, what it should look like.
Jason Fordney:
Oh, yeah. A big conversation.
Dan Catchpole:
Just yeah.
The last couple of things here to highlight for folks, and
there's plenty more to read on our website newsdata.com is let's
see, we've got some good fish news for the northwest.
You can't talk about the Northwest federal hydropower system
without talking about fish.
There's in preliminary forecasts, population returns is supposed
to be up for salmon,
steelhead and particularly coho salmon on the Columbia River
system.
So that is some great news.
Fish scientists, fish biologists do caution that it's good news,
but it is there's still
an uphill struggle for these species.
Yeah. And then last thing, Avista wants to create a renewable
natural
gas opt-in purchase option for customers in Idaho and Oregon.
They created one like that in Washington last fall and they are
trying to recreate it in the two neighboring
states. So far, 69 people in Washington have signed up, which is
not a lot.
But, you know, it's early days.
So that's what we've got for the Northwest.
What's going on in your neck of the woods, Jason?
Tell us about California.
Jason Fordney:
The Golden State.
Yes, March 17th, California Independent System operator gave its
stamp of approval to a two year, $3
billion transmission plant.
The CAISO's board of Governors at a virtual meeting approved the
2021-2022 transmission plan.
This plan identifies upgrades needed for the state to meet its
public policy, reliability and economic goals.
Forecasting by California agencies has revealed a need for a
growing amount of resources to be added each year.
Last year's plan was based on adding 1000 megawatts per year
over the next ten years, while the plan that was just approved
last week assumes 2700 megawatts of new additions per year, and
next year's plan will be based on adding 4000 megawatts per year.
Obviously seeing a lot of new resources.
Over the next 20 years, The transmission planning forecast
assumes 120 gigawatts of new resources.
I won't go through them all, but it does include 53 gigawatts of
grid connected solar, 37 gigawatts of battery
storage, 2.3 gigawatts of geothermal, and then some other
resources 24 gigawatts of wind
divided between in-state, out-of-state and offshore.
Yeah, dramatic growth in the amount of planned renewables.
And there's also growth in load forecasts driving that
transmission plan.
Dan Catchpole:
Can you just repeat that battery storage number one more time?
Jason Fordney:
37 gigawatts.
Dan Catchpole:
37. Yeah.
I mean, I heard it. I just.
I feel like we always need to, like, repeat it because it is
just Amazing compared to — that number
was incomprehensible just a few years ago.
Jason Fordney:
I know. And we're talking about 20 years from now.
But clearly, the way California is going, we're a little, I
think we're at 2600 megawatts right now.
And these are all plans. You know, policies can change,
administrations can change.
But yeah, that's....
Dan Catchpole:
I just mean, the economics of batteries are just changing so
fast.
Jason Fordney:
They are.
Dan Catchpole:
It's really shocking.
Jason Fordney:
Yeah. And I think we'll need some technologies other than lithium
ion at some point.
Dan Catchpole:
AA. (laughs)
Jason Fordney:
Yep. Also last week, California investor owned utilities
discussed their
wildfire mitigation and grid hardening efforts, including
undergrounding of power lines in high fire threat districts.
These are efforts to reduce wildfire ignitions and also public
safety power shutoffs, which of course, happened during hot, dry
and windy weather here in California.
The IOUs outlined their strategies at a March 10th technical
conference.
They presented 2022 updates to their wildfire mitigation plans
to the state's Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety.
Pacific Gas and Electric this year hopes to complete at least
470 miles of system hardening, including more than
175 miles of undergrounding.
PG&E has a target of burying 3,645 total miles of lines by 2026
and
ultimately wants to underground 10,000 miles.
That's according to PG&E officials.
Lessons learned from completed undergrounding projects are
helping PG&E refine and change design and construction standards
in a way that saves money and takes advantage of economies of
scale, according to PGE
. Beyond 2022, the utilities also plan to upgrade other equipment
and duct conduct inspections in high
fire threat districts and bring on new technologies.
Other utilities, San Diego Gas and Electric has completed more
than 12,000 enhanced vegetation management trims
in 2021, exceeding the required 12 foot of clearance.
SDG and also completed more than 25 miles of strategic
undergrounding in 2021.
These are small numbers for undergrounding, but obviously the
way things are going for reasons that are very clear, wildfire
ignitions being a big problem here.
Also, and that's reporting from Abigail Sawyer on the wildfire
mitigation plans.
From Linda Daly Paulson, this week, we have a new study from
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, which looks at
existing programs in California for solar adoption.
The study shows that means tested incentives could support solar
adoption by low to moderate income households, which
in turn could support state equity initiatives.
Solar subsidies are not only reaching the right demographic,
they are also increasing adoption in disadvantaged communities.
This is according to a LBNL Cal researcher, Eric O'Shaughnessy.
Although many states have offered solar energy subsidies, these
are phased out over time, based on the assumption that incentives
are no longer needed once a technology's prices decrease.
However, the high initial initial cost of solar inhibits
adoption by low and moderate income residents, which
makes incentive programs important in encouraging adoption.
The study focused on data gathered from the California Single
Family Affordable Solar Homes Program and the Connecticut Solar
for All program to make its assessment.
You can find more about that at newsdata.com.
Finally, we have a southwest story again from Abigail Sawyer.
Some interesting things we've noticed on social media regarding
Public Service Company of New Mexico,
which is the state's largest utility.
PNM says it's not behind comments critical of New Mexico
regulators that have appeared on Twitter and an opinion pieces
recently published in local newspapers.
The PRC, at a March 9th meeting discussed several op-eds penned
by individuals, including an Albuquerque city council member,
an economic development consultant and a financial adviser.
These editorials have appeared in next New Mexico newspapers
since mid-February.
They criticize the July 2020 NMPRC decision that countered the
preferences of Public Service Company of New
Mexico, PNM, and assert that resource scarcity concerns for
summer 2022 would have been
avoided if the Commission had approved PNM's preferred plan.
One thing we noticed on our CM Twitter account is several other
Twitter accounts with dubious profiles, they all went live in
February. They all criticize the commission, and they all
complain about the rejection of PNM and Avangrid's merger
application. The tweets all show support for the utility.
New Mexico's plan move to an appointed commission and the
state's governor and attorney general who have also criticized
the commission. We discovered or we noticed several accounts
they've all created in
February. You can find them on our Twitter account.
None of them have real photographs.
They have no followers, obviously, fake accounts, the four
suspicious accounts and their short history of retweeted and
replied to several published articles covering energy issues in
New Mexico.
So, by the way, PNM says they are not behind these accounts, but
agreed, they do look suspicious.
So what we're seeing yeah a little bit of a shadow PR campaign.
We don't know who's behind it, but we have noticed it.
And again, you can find more in our newsletter or at
newsdata.com.
That's about it from California and the southwest.
Back to you, Dan.
Dan Catchpole:
Fake Twitter accounts weighing in on energy issues.
I'm sure it's not probably — I wouldn't be surprised if it's not
the first instance of that,
but it is just a weird world we live in.
Jason Fordney:
It is. And if you look at these accounts, it's a pretty clumsy
effort.
As I said, they're all created in February.
They have no followers.
They have generic names, no photographs, no personal history to
them.
But yeah, you know, it is a world we live in.
You just never know on social media these days who is really
behind what you're reading unless you're on the CEM or CEU
accounts which are rock solid.
Dan Catchpole:
Yes. Yes.
Good plug. Good transition.
Follow us on Twitter, @CUNewsData and @CEMNewsData
. And go to our website newsdata.com to find out more.
Read these stories and more from Clearing Up in the northwest
and California Energy Markets
covering, as you might have guessed it, dear listeners,
California and the Southwest.
So that's it for me, Jason.
Anything to add.
Jason Fordney:
I don't think so.
We have April Fools coming up.
We'll have our April Fools issue.
Not to tip people off.
We like to surprise them. We usually get a few people each year,
but yeah, that'll be a fun thing coming up for our pubs.
Other than that, that's about it.
Dan Catchpole:
And I actually, you know, I just before I forget, I've got an
interview with former
Bonneville Power Administration administrator Steve Wright that
will be dropping soon.
So I'll get a very fascinating interview about what's going on
in the Northwest.
Just bigger picture, where things are headed.
Real high level pictures from one of or high level conversation
from one of the best informed and most
thoughtful people in the Northwest, and perhaps even just the
the Western power industry
in general. And I don't know if you can hear my dogs.
Jason Fordney:
Yeah.
Dan Catchpole:
They're telling me to get off and to go take her outside, so.
Jason Fordney:
Well, good luck with the fence.
Yeah. Stay dry.
Dan Catchpole:
Okay, Winnie, hold on.
All right, well, that's it from us.
Check us out online.
Say hi to us on Twitter or tune in next week to hear more.
Outro:
You've been listening to NewsData's Energy West, a podcast about
the energy industry today and where it's going
tomorrow.