Renewables

Despite the license and permitting hurdles, utilities around the country are taking a harder look at pumped storage hydro options. Potential benefits from federal tax credits might make an asset like pumped storage, which has a long asset life, more attractive as a storage option.

Hydro has been critical to the integration of renewable energy. You couldn’t build enough renewables across a portfolio or a geographic area that could provide the kind of flexibility and reliability that hydro brings.

Hydropower’s role as a balancing resource is going to be more important than ever. Hydropower is reliable, flexible, and clean, which makes it a perfect companion to intermittent renewable energy resources.

PUF’s Paul Kjellander talked with two leaders on all issues pertaining to hydropower and what its future looks like. Bonneville Power Administration CEO John Hairston and Idaho Power CEO Lisa Grow have much to say on this important subject.

“What would a hydrogen market look like? Speakers at the roundtable suggested that a regulated utility model is likely the best option to create transparency, build trust with customers, and achieve societal goals.”

“The Biden administration announced a pause on LNG export facilities. What will that mean? The U.S. is the number one producer and became the number one exporter of natural gas in the second half of 2022, following the Russian invasion, when Europe decided to cut access to Russia’s pipelines.”

“The challenge is the U.S. IRA had the effect of people looking at the capital that was going to go to those projects, potentially going to the U.S. To level that playing field, we made a formal proposal to Finance Canada for an investment tax credit that would support production of renewable natural gas.”

“In our proposals and plans for the HyVelocity Hub, about 80% of the hydrogen production is going to come from hydrogen produced with natural gas. Another 20% will come from electrolysis. It’s important that we’re increasingly understanding the carbon intensity of hydrogen. The Open Hydrogen Initiative will help with that.”

“Putting these factors together – an island with a need for renewables and a lot of wind off its coast – it’s not a surprise that LIPA was the first utility in the U.S. to sign a power purchase agreement to develop offshore wind in federal waters.”

“We modeled the job creation and economic benefits of the renewable energy projects that PJM will attempt to pass through the interconnection queue in the next four years as PJM implements reforms recently approved by FERC.”