Seattle City Light is accepting proposals from other utilities and power marketers to exchange the energy produced by the Lucky Peak hydroelectric irrigation project in Idaho for a fixed amount of energy to be delivered during the fall and winter.
Seattle City Light is accepting proposals from other utilities and power marketers to exchange the energy produced by the Lucky Peak hydroelectric irrigation project in Idaho for a fixed amount of energy to be delivered during the fall and winter.
Lucky Peak is located near Boise and has a capacity of 101 Megawatts. Most of its electricity is generated in the spring and summer. Seattle City Light’s customers use more electricity during winter than they do in the summer.
“Other utilities have a greater need for summer power,” City Light Power Management Director Wayne Morter said. “This exchange would provide us with more power when our customers have their greatest need.”
In addition to the electricity generated by Lucky Peak, the exchange would deliver all the environmental attributes associated with the carbon-free generation. Since Lucky Peak was built before 1997, it does not qualify as a new renewable energy resource under Washington’s renewable energy portfolio standard, but it could qualify in some other states.
Proposals must be submitted by noon Pacific Time on Dec. 9. Additional information is available here.
Seattle City Light is the 10th largest public electric utility in the United States. It has some of the lowest cost customer rates of any urban utility, providing reliable, renewable and environmentally responsible power to nearly 1 million Seattle area residents. City Light has been greenhouse gas neutral since 2005, the first electric utility in the nation to achieve that distinction.