Idaho Power Wind Integration Study is Premature

Portland—A preliminary wind integration cost study released by the Idaho Power Company on Wednesday met with stiff resistance from members of a regional group charged with investigating costs associated with accommodating wind farms on the Northwest power grid.  Renewable Northwest Project (RNP) Director Rachel Shimshak said, “While we are pleased that Idaho Power conducted a wind integration study, they have rushed an incomplete analysis to the Idaho Public Utility Commission without completing the peer review process.”  Shimshak, a Steering Committee member of the Northwest Wind Integration Action Plan (NWIAP), added that the peer review process was established to ensure the accuracy of the methods used in wind studies.

Brendan Kirby, a senior Researcher with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and a member of the NWIAP peer review group said, “We were particularly dismayed that the study was released while the peer review group was actively discussing changes to their methodology.” 

The wind integration costs suggested by Idaho Power Company appear twice as high as cost estimates from other utilities within and outside the Northwest region.  For a number that high to be credible, the technical experts on the peer review committee need to understand how Idaho Power’s system is so different from all others studied.

RNP and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory sent a letter to the Idaho Commission today urging them to allow Idaho Power the time to complete its peer review process before taking any action on the data.

# # #