Renewables Companies to Offer Power to LADWP

Renewable power companies lined up to offer the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power both base- and peak-load power at rates competitive with fossil fuels. The January 29 green power surge was in response to a call by key members of the Los Angeles City Council for the nation?s largest municipal utility to meet a 20 percent renewables portfolio standard by the year 2017. ?The fundamentals have changed significantly in the past four years,? said David Olsen, president of Clipper Windpower Development. ?Gas prices have almost tripled.? At the same time, the cost of renewables has fallen. The changing dynamics of the energy market will make it possible for the department to meet a 20 percent renewables portfolio standard at an average added cost of $0.40 a month per household, said Bernadette del Chiaro, clean energy campaign director for Environment California. The clean power offers came at a renewable energy summit called by Los Angeles City Council member Tony Cardenas, who chairs the council?s Commerce, Energy, and Natural Resources Committee. There were more than 100 people in attendance, many of them renewables suppliers hoping for deals. Cardenas organized the January 29 summit and joined Los Angeles mayor James Hahn earlier in the week to call on the department to develop a plan to reach 20 percent renewables by 2017. Hahn announced a ?green ribbon commission? to shape the plan, but some want swifter action. ?We?ve been talking about it for far too long,? said city council president Alex Padilla. He challenged the committee to vote on a 20 percent renewables portfolio standard and send it to the full council for approval. ?You don?t want to let your politics get in front of your fiduciary duty,? said Rod Wright, former chair of the Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee, urging caution. ?Don?t let them open your wallet and take the money out.? The cost spread between fossil fuel, even low-cost coal, and renewables is narrowing. Geothermal and wind power developers from the Nevada Energy Park venture offered power to the department at $0.049/kWh, compared to the department?s most expensive coal power, which costs about $0.04/kWh. CalEnergy offered an immediate 15 MW of power to the department, with the prospect of 2,300 MW more from its Salton Sea geothermal plant. The company has entered a 20-year contract to supply the Imperial Irrigation District with 170 MW of power at $0.056/kWh. Looking ahead, analysts advised the city to beware of the eventual costs of fossil-fuel reliance. ?You have a relatively high-carbon diet,? said Paul Wuebben, clean fuels officer for the South Coast Air Quality Management District. He said that by integrating 20 percent renewable energy into its power mix, the department could cut its emissions of greenhouse gases by 32 percent. Accordingly, he urged the department to begin divesting its interest in coal-fired power plants because of high environmental costs. Half of LADWP?s power is coal fueled. Mayor Hahn will appoint members to the renewable energy commission and set a work schedule in the weeks ahead, said a spokesperson.

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Renewables Companies to Offer Power to LADWP

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