Monday 16 August 2010
Idaho Power Co. has filed its integrated resource plan (IRP) with the Idaho Public Utilities Commission (PUC). The company plans to add about 3,000 MW of capacity over the next 20 years to meet anticipated load growth, according to the IRP.
The plan also spells out how the company plans to reduce summer peak load by 323 MW by 2012, due largely to demand-reduction programs aimed at commercial, industrial and irrigation customers. Energy efficiency programs are forecast to reduce load by 127 average MW by 2029, a 53% increase over measures included in Idaho Power's 2006 IRP.
Idaho Power's southern Idaho and eastern Oregon territory serves about 486,000 customers, but those numbers are expected to increase to 680,000 at the end of the 20-year plan in 2029. Idaho Power anticipates that summertime peak-load hours will increase by 53 MW over the next 20 years and average load will increase by 13 MW during the same time frame.
To accommodate the load growth over the next 10 years, Idaho Power continues to rely on expanding its demand-reduction programs. It also plans to add 540 MW of new generation, including the 300 MW Langley Gulch natural-gas plant, which is now under construction near New Plymouth.
The company also plans to add 150 MW of wind generation and 40 MW of geothermal generation. Completion of a proposed major 500-kv transmission line from the Boardman Substation near Boardman, Ore., to the Hemingway Substation near Melba will make available another 425 MW of capacity to Idaho Power's customers. An upgrade of the Shoshone Falls hydroelectric facility will make another 20 MW available by 2015.
Looking beyond 10 years, the company plans another 1,400 MW of generation from natural gas plants and 500 MW from wind. The additional wind assumes that the Gateway West Transmission Project, a joint transmission project proposed by Idaho Power and Rocky Mountain Power that would pass through southern Wyoming and southern Idaho, will be completed.
SOURCE: Idaho Public Utilities Commission
Monday, August 16, 2010
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Idaho Power begins new B2H process
Transmission line would stretch nearly 300 miles
By Larry Meyer, August 11, 2010
The proposed transmission would stretch 299.8 miles from a sub station near Boardman to the newly constructed Hemingway substation south of the Snake River, near Melba. Idaho Power says the new line is needed to increase its capacity. Two more joint scoping meetings will follow in Boardman today and Burns on Thursday.
An earlier process was halted after Idaho Power withdrew its initial proposed routing of the line, facing stiff opposition from residents in Idaho and Oregon because it would have taken the line through an abundance of farmland.
Working with project advisory teams, Idaho Power came up with a new route and because it is a new proposal, a new process leading to a decision was required by both agencies. The new route in Idaho and Malheur County skirts most of the farmland, staying mainly on public land.
In Malheur County, the line would cross about 23 miles of private land and about 46 miles of BLM land, crossing a total of about 70 miles through the county.
According to Sue Oliver, energy facility analyst for DOE, Idaho Power will be applying for site certification with the review process conducted by Oregon Energy Facility Siting Council. . .
While the analysis for EIS will include the private land, as well as public land, the EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) and decision will only be on public land, John Styduhar, federal project manager, said. In their review following the scoping, federal agencies will develop a range of alternatives for analysis, Styduhar said. Those alternatives could include structure design or some mitigation of impacts which can’t be avoided. . .
The deadline for sending comments to both agencies is Sept. 27 and can be made via the comment sites on the project Web page, e-mail, regular mail or fax.
ONTARIO — Oregon Department of Energy and Bureau of Land Management officials have restarted their decision-making processes regarding Idaho Power’s proposed 500 kilo-volt transmission line which, if approved-will cross five eastern Oregon counties, including Malheur, and into Owyhee County in Idaho, holding the sixth public meeting in Ontario Tuesday at the Four Rivers Cultural Center.
The proposed transmission would stretch 299.8 miles from a sub station near Boardman to the newly constructed Hemingway substation south of the Snake River, near Melba. Idaho Power says the new line is needed to increase its capacity. Two more joint scoping meetings will follow in Boardman today and Burns on Thursday.
An earlier process was halted after Idaho Power withdrew its initial proposed routing of the line, facing stiff opposition from residents in Idaho and Oregon because it would have taken the line through an abundance of farmland.
Working with project advisory teams, Idaho Power came up with a new route and because it is a new proposal, a new process leading to a decision was required by both agencies. The new route in Idaho and Malheur County skirts most of the farmland, staying mainly on public land.
In Malheur County, the line would cross about 23 miles of private land and about 46 miles of BLM land, crossing a total of about 70 miles through the county.
According to Sue Oliver, energy facility analyst for DOE, Idaho Power will be applying for site certification with the review process conducted by Oregon Energy Facility Siting Council. . .
While the analysis for EIS will include the private land, as well as public land, the EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) and decision will only be on public land, John Styduhar, federal project manager, said. In their review following the scoping, federal agencies will develop a range of alternatives for analysis, Styduhar said. Those alternatives could include structure design or some mitigation of impacts which can’t be avoided. . .
The deadline for sending comments to both agencies is Sept. 27 and can be made via the comment sites on the project Web page, e-mail, regular mail or fax.
Friday, August 6, 2010
BLM, USFS and ODOE Scoping Meetings
Remember that scoping (informational and comment) meetings for the BLM, US Forest Service and the Oregon Department of Energy are ongoing.
Marsing's scoping meeting will be held at the American Legion Hall from 3:30 - 8: p.m. on Monday, August 9th.
Ontario's scoping meeting will be held at the Four Rivers Cultural Center from 3:30 - 8 p.m. on Tuesday, August 10th.
Make sure you leave comments at these meetings or online. For more information, maps, comment links, brochure and flowcharts, go to http://www.boardmantohemingway.com/scoping2010.aspx
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)