PGE’s new integrated resource plan aims for more renewable generating resources, increased energy efficiency, and improved customer demand-response measures
Image: PGE’s new plan calls for more renewables, energy storage projects in US. Photo: Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay.
Portland General Electric (PGE) has submitted plans to the Oregon Public Utility Commission to secure approval to add 150MW of new renewables capacity by 2023.
The firm said that the new integrated resource plan aims for more renewable generating resources, more energy efficiency, and increased customer demand-response measures to help balance peak loads.
PGE president and CEO Maria Pope said: “This is the first resource plan developed since we expanded our commitment to cut PGE greenhouse gas emissions.
“It proposes measured steps we can take today to address climate change, while allowing flexibility for adjustments as technology and policies continue to evolve.”
The plan submitted by PGE also calls for 157MW of additional cost-effective energy efficiency measures
Additionally, the plan calls for a 157MW of additional cost-effective energy efficiency measures, increased reliance on demand response to help balance source, and additional actions to help meet capacity needs resulting from expiring contracts and the retirement of baseload coal plants.
The integrated resource plan will now undergo a public review process prior to announcing commissioners’ decision whether the utility has identified an appropriate least-cost, least-risk plan to reliably serve customers.
PGE said in a statement: “Under the plan, PGE will seek to meet customers’ energy needs without building greenhouse gas-emitting resources, even as the company prepares to cease coal-fired operations at Boardman at the end of 2020.”
In February 2019, PGE and NextEra Energy Resources have announced their plans to construct a major energy facility co-locating wind, solar and battery storage in Eastern Oregon.
Named as Wheatridge Renewable Energy Facility, the new project will include a 300MW of wind generation, a 50MW of solar generation and a 30MW of battery storage.
PGE said that the new facility is expected to take the company’s wind generation portfolio to a total of more than 1,000MW or 1GW that is drawn from five owned or contracted wind farms in the Northwest. The capacity is adequate to power approximately 340,000 households.