About the Northwest Wind Integration Action Plan

Little more than a decade after the region’s first commercial-scale wind project came online, as much as 3,800 MW of wind power may be in-service in the Northwest by 2009. Many factors are driving wind energy’s growth, including volatile natural gas prices, and renewable energy and climate policy developments at the federal, state and local levels. Clearly, wind energy is going to play a major role in the future of the Northwest power system.

Through the Northwest Wind Integration Action Plan, many of the region’s utility, regulatory, consumer, and environmental organizations have worked together to address questions surrounding the growth of wind energy. These include:

• What is the role of wind energy in a power supply portfolio and how does it impact system operations?
• Does the Pacific Northwest have the operational capability to integrate 6,000 MW of wind? If so, what are the estimated costs of integrating this amount of wind energy?
• What are the transmission requirements for developing 6,000 MW of wind?
• How will the costs of wind integration be recovered?
• How can everyone work together to help the Northwest meet its wind energy potential in the most cost-effective manner?

This effort has produced significant findings regarding the ability of the Northwest to accommodate future wind power development, and also has identified issues that need to be resolved for wind power to achieve its full potential. The Action Plan recommends 16 actions intended to help resolve these issues. Of particular importance are actions addressing challenges associated with transmission marketing, planning and expansion, and the limited market for control area services.