|
Wind power delivery costs leave utilities twisting
(Daily Oklahoman, The Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Dec. 4--Extra-high-voltage lines for transmitting wind-generated power to where it can be used by customers are expensive.
So Oklahoma Wind Energy Conference attendees this week explored the question of who should pay for those lines.
Officials with Southwest Power Pool, a regional transmission organization covering parts of New Mexico, Texas, Arkansas and Louisana and all of Oklahoma and Kansas, say planning continues on grid improvements to keep the lights on, getting wind power to consumers, and deciding how to pay for it.
Jay Caspary, Southwest Power Pool's engineering director, said the region's member utilities are committed to spending more than $2 billion the next 10 years to upgrade lines.
In the longer term, a consultant recommends 2,200 miles of new extra-high-voltage line at a cost of $8 billion.
These lines, mostly 765 kilovolt, would accommodate as much as 13,000 megawatts of wind power, he said.
"We don't want to build a bridge to nowhere," Caspary said.
"We want to know where we are going."
How it will be funded
Les Dillahunty, regulatory vice president for the Southwest Power Pool, said the organization is working with its member utilities and state and federal regulators to come up with ways to pay for grid improvements.
Those upgrades would enhance reliability, are built for economic reasons and are designed to export wind-generated power to other parts of the country.
Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co., which is building extra-high-voltage lines in a partnership with Electric Transmission America from Woodward north to Kansas and northwest to Guymon, received approval on Wednesday from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to recover costs for their $500 million project.
Kansas project approved
Another company received approval for a $600 million project in Kansas. Both propose building 765-kilovolt lines.
"With the way our transmission is interconnected, when you build new lines, its benefits extend past the boundaries of your retail service area," said Mel Perkins, vice president for power delivery at OG&E.
"So, in order to balance, or associate the costs with the benefits, then you need to allocate your costs. These large, high-voltage transmission lines benefit the entire region. Everyone in the region should help pay for it, because everyone benefits."
To see more of The Oklahoman, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.newsok.com.
Copyright (c) 2008, The Oklahoman, Oklahoma City
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
|
INDUSTRIES
Activate Email 
Find Solutions for Enterprises, SMBs & Service Providers at the INTERNET TELEPHONY Conference and EXPO East, January 20-22, 2010. Miami, FL.
