PSE seeks bids for new energy resources

Submitted by Puget Sound Energy.

Puget Sound Energy has issued a request for proposal (RFP), to add new renewable energy to meet customers’ long-range electricity needs. The RFP coordinates with the energy-supply and planning needs stated in PSE’s 2017 Integrated Resource Plan.

In the all-source RFP, PSE seeks to replace the energy capacity shortfall of 272 MW from the coal-fired Colstrip Units 1 and 2 in Montana when they shut down by 2022. PSE also requests proposals for renewable energy capable of providing 671,000 renewable energy credits (RECs) in 2023 and larger amounts in subsequent years. As an illustration, a 210 MW wind project or a 246 MW solar project would be capable of supplying that quantity of RECs and enabling PSE to meet Washington state’s 15- percent renewable portfolio standard obligation.

“As we continue to reduce carbon emissions and further expand our renewable energy supplies, our RFP emphasizes bids for fairly-priced new resources that will protect the environment as well as our customers’ pocketbooks,” said David Mills, PSE’s senior vice president-policy and energy supply. “The region is growing, and it’s important that we acquire resources that will meet those demands and ensure we keep the lights on and homes heated on the coldest days of the year.”

PSE’s all-source RFP also seeks proposals for energy storage capacity.

“The new resources and technologies we could see from this process are exciting, because they would provide both environmental and reliability benefits,” added Mills. “We are hoping to find that combination of resources that will prove to be a sustainable, reliable and low-cost way to meet the needs of our customers identified in the RFP.”

A second RFP, also issued by PSE, emphasizes the creation of a demand-response program that seeks technology tools and other resources that would enable customers to shift their electricity usage during high-demand periods to help reduce congestion on the electric grid and lower the wholesale cost of electricity.

The Washington Utilities Transportation Commission on June 28 approved PSE’s two RFP proposals. Separately, PSE announced its commitment last December to reducing its carbon footprint by 50 percent by 2040. Key components of PSE’s plan include the transition from coal, new product and resource development, and cleaner transportation.

Bids will be due Aug. 17, with a final list scheduled for release in the first quarter of 2019.