FEDS RULE FOR WIND

FERC Rules In Favor Of Wind Power In BPA Curtailment Case
Laura DiMugno, 8 December 2011 (North American Windpower)

"The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has ruled in favor of wind power in the Bonneville Power Administration's (BPA) highly contested decision to curtail wind and other forms of generation this spring during a period of hydropower oversupply.

"FERC ruled that BPA's actions unduly discriminated against wind energy and gave preferential treatment to hydropower when it opted to curtail 350 MW of wind generation instead of allowing water to spill over hydroelectric dams…"



"As a result of the ruling, BPA will no longer be allowed to use this policy, and must submit to FERC, within 90 days, a revised open-access transmission tariff that…provides transmission service that is ‘not unduly discriminatory or preferential’…[FERC also recognized in its ruling the wider issue of a lack of sufficient transmission capacity to integrate variable energy resources, especially wind power]…

"BPA expressed disappointment with FERC’s decision, and acknowledged that oversupply will continue to be a challenge in the region…At the time, BPA claimed its curtailment decision was necessary to protect salmon and steelhead, maintain the reliability of the power grid and avoid shifting costs to customers. However, a report issued this fall by salmon industry group Save Our wild Salmon (SOS) denies the validity of those claims…"