Idaho approves PacifiCorp wind project
PacifiCorp won approval Friday from the Idaho Public Utilities Commission to move forward with its wind energy production plan.
The Utah Public Service Commission approved the plan on June 22, and Wyoming approved certificates of public convenience and necessity in April. Oregon and Washington signaled support for the Energy Vision 2020 initiative as part of the company’s 2017 integrated resource plan.
The project will add three new wind projects in Wyoming that will provide a total of 1,150 MW of new wind energy capacity and a 140-mile high-voltage transmission line in Wyoming. The new wind projects will increase the amount of wind capacity in PacifiCorp’s system by more than 60 percent. The additions will provide enough new electricity to power more than 400,000 average homes by 2020.
The project will also upgrade the company’s existing wind projects with longer blades and newer technology that will boost output by more than 25 percent.
“As this exciting initiative receives these approvals, we look forward to the benefits the projects will bring to all our customers in the form of low-cost renewable energy and a more robust transmission system,” said Cindy A. Crane, CEO, Rocky Mountain Power. “These investments will significantly expand the company’s Wyoming wind fleet and benefit both state and local economies.”
PacifiCorp estimates its total investment at just over $3 billion. That’s about half a billion dollars less than the cost estimate when the project was first announced in April 2017 due to changes in scope and cost. The utility expects to complete the project by 2020.
You can see the Idaho Public Utilities Commission order here.
