PORTLAND GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY (NYSE:POR) Files An 8-K Other Events
Item 8.01 Other Events.
In May 2018, Portland General Electric Company (PGE or the Company) issued a Renewable Request for Proposals (RFP) seeking to procure approximately 100 average megawatts (MWa) of qualifying renewable resources.
With the oversight of an independent evaluator selected by the Public Utility Commission of Oregon (OPUC) to help conduct the RFP and review bids to ensure a fair and transparent process, the Company determined a Final Shortlist of proposals. PGE submitted a benchmark project into the RFP process that included a wind resource that would qualify for federal production tax credits. The benchmark project was considered along with other renewable resource proposals and was among the bids included in the Final Shortlist.
The proposals provided various combinations of wind, solar, and battery storage options that included power purchase agreements (PPAs) along with up to 100 MW of Company-owned wind resources.
As a result of negotiations with the bidders, PGE and NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, a subsidiary of NextEra Energy, Inc. have announced plans to construct a new energy facility in eastern Oregon combining 300 megawatts (MW) of wind generation with 50 MW of solar generation and 30 MW of battery storage.
The new project, called the Wheatridge Renewable Energy Facility, will consist of 120 wind turbines manufactured by GE Renewable Energy, Inc. PGE will own 100 MW of the wind resource with an investment of approximately $160 million. Subsidiaries of NextEra Energy Resources, LLC plan to build and operate the facility and will own the balance of wind resource, along with the solar and battery components, and sell their portion of the output to PGE under 30-year PPAs.
The wind component of the facility is expected to be operational by December 2020 and qualify for federal production tax credits at the 100 percent level. Construction of the solar and battery components is planned for 2021 and is expected to qualify for federal investment tax credits. These tax credits will help reduce the cost of the project and thus reduce costs to PGE’s customers.
The agreements signed by PGE and subsidiaries of NextEra Energy Resources, LLC will be subject to prudency review on customers’ behalf by the OPUC. The agreements are also subject to approval by senior management of NextEra Energy, Inc., which is anticipated in March 2019.
Additional information regarding the RFP (OPUC Docket UM 1934) is available on the OPUC website at www.oregon.gov/puc.
About PORTLAND GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY (NYSE:POR)
Portland General Electric Company (PGE) is an electric utility company. The Company is engaged in the generation, wholesale purchase, transmission, distribution and retail sale of electricity in the state of Oregon. The Company also sells electricity and natural gas in the wholesale market to utilities, brokers and power marketers. The Company has approximately four natural gas-fired generating facilities, which include PW1, PW2, Beaver and Coyote Springs Unit 1 (Coyote Springs). PGE owns and operates over two wind farms, including Biglow Canyon Wind Farm (Biglow Canyon) and Tucannon River. Biglow Canyon, which is located in Sherman County, Oregon, is its renewable energy resource consisting of approximately 220 wind turbines with a total nameplate capacity of over 450 megawatts (MW). Its Tucannon River is located in southeastern Washington and consists of approximately 120 wind turbines with a total nameplate capacity of over 270 MW.