January 26, 2004—The Bonneville Power Administration has found a way to make the wind more useful for generating electricity year round. The program is a major step toward advancing wind generation in the Northwest.
With the signing of a contract with the Cowlitz County Public Utility District in Longview, Wash., BPA introduces a new service to help the regions publicly owned utilities bring wind-generated power to their customers. Cowlitz is buying two megawatts of power from the Nine Canyon wind energy project operated by Energy Northwest near Kennewick, Wash. Because the wind produces a variable supply of energy, BPA provides a back-up energy source to cover the times when the turbines dont turn. BPA has agreed to take the wind energy into its system, deliver the power as its available and provide the back up.
The new service is available to any of BPAs public utility customers that want to invest in wind power. BPA charges are designed to cover the costs of providing the service while keeping wind affordable.
BPA has also developed a similar service for other regional public utilities that buy fixed amounts of power from BPA as well as for investor-owned utilities. The service integrates the wind energy and stores it in the hydropower system, delivering the power to the utility a week later in a steady, predictable supply.
