Portland General Electric (PGE), an integrated energy company based in Portland, Oregon, has issued a request for proposals seeking an additional 100MW of renewable power generating resources.
Image: A wind turbine. Photo: Courtesy of Falk Schaaf/FreeImages.com
PGE shared the RFP in draft form with potential bidders and stakeholders earlier this year, and on May 16 received final Oregon Public Utility Commission sign-off to move forward with the competitive bidding process. After final adjustments to reflect commission direction, the RFP is now open for bids.
PGE president and CEO Maria Pope said: “We are committed to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions.
“Continuing to add renewable resources to our mix while keeping electricity affordable for our customers is key to that effort.”
RFP details and process
Bids submitted must meet a minimum size of 10 megawatts, and can represent multiple technologies including geothermal, biomass, biogas, solar, wind and hydroelectric power. Bids can also be structured in a variety of ways, including power purchase agreements or proposals for facilities that PGE would own and operate.
If bids received prove cost effective for service to customers, PGE may acquire a single resource or a mix of resources to achieve the total desired renewable energy target, and expects the resources acquired to be brought into the company’s portfolio no later than 2021.
The RFP is a significant step in implementing PGE’s current integrated resource plan, which the OPUC acknowledged in 2017, and will be conducted under guidelines established by the commission.
Consistent with those guidelines, the OPUC has retained an independent evaluator, Bates White, to monitor PGE’s procurement process. Bates White is hosting a website where bidders and stakeholders may ask questions of PGE regarding the RFP so that the answers will be available to all participants in the process.
Source: Company Press Release.