Iberdrola, Constellation and BPA Launch Pilot Project to Raise Clean Energy Mix

Iberdrola Renewables, the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and Constellation Energy have launched a new pilot programme to include non-wind resources for better wind energy integration in the grid.

The initiative, Customer Supplied Generation Imbalance or ‘self supply’, brings together hydro, wind and natural gas-fired energy to efficiently integrate wind generation into the electricity grid and reduce the use of coal-fired generation.

Currently, wind generation, which is an intermittent resource, is backed exclusively with energy from federal hydropower by BPA.

However, with increasing growth in wind power generation in the north-west, federal dams’ capacity to alone provide wind balancing services is likely to fall short, according to Iberdrola.

Iberdrola Renewables has resources of over 600MW of low-carbon-emitting, natural gas-fired generation at its Klamath Cogeneration Plant and Klamath natural gas-peaking plants in Oregon.

The firm has also entered into strategic agreements with TransAlta and Grant County Public Utility District (PUC) to use their electric generation.