20101222Comments in Opposition.pdf

Peter J. Richardson (lSB # 3195)
Gregory M. Adams (lSB # 7454)
Richardson & O'Lear, PLLC
515 N. 27th Street
P.O. Box 7218
Boise, Idaho 83702
Telephone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
peter(ßrichardsonandoleary.com
greg(ßrichardsonandoleary.com
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2m\) DEC 22 Pl1 2: 45
Attorneys for the Board of Commissioners of Adams County Idaho
BEFORE THE
IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
IN THE MATTER OF THE JOINT PETITION )
OF IDAHO POWER COMPANY, AVISTA )
CORPORATION, AND ROCKY MOUNTAIN )
POWER TO ADDRESS AVOIDED COST )
ISSUES AND JOINT MOTION TO ADJUST )
THE PUBLISHED AVOIDED COST RATE )ELIGIBILITY CAP. )
)
CASE NO. GNR-E-I0-04
COMMENTS IN OPPOSITION
OF THE BOAR OF
COMMISSIONERS OF ADAMS
COUNTY, IDAHO
COMES NOW, the Board of County Commissioners of Adams County, Idaho, ("Adams
County,") and pursuant to that Notice of Scheduling Order No. 32131 issued on December 3,
2010, by the Idaho Public Utilities Commission (the "Commission") and hereby provides its
Comments in Opposition to the requested reduction in the eligibility cap for published avoided
cost rates. Adams County respectfully requests that the Commission deny the request to reduce
the published avoided cost rate eligibility cap, and alternatively requests that the Commission
hold an evidentiar hearing prior to issuing any order reducing the cap.
INTRODUCTION
Since 2006, Adams County has been aggressively investigating the constrction of a ten
megawatt woody biomass generating plant. Ths activity has included the development of and
paricipation in the Woody Biomass Utilzation Parnership, which includes a Biomass
Coordinator, commissioner representatives from Adams, Boise, Gem and Valley counties, and
one at-large member from each county. Ad Hoc members include the USDA, Forest Service,
Idaho Deparment of Commerce, Idaho Deparment of Lands, Bureau of Land Management,
private industry representatives, private consultats, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Sage
Communty Resources, and the West Central Highlands Resource Conservation Development
District, to just name a few. The Parership was formed in 2007 as a 501c3 non-profit
organzation and continues to invest considerable time, money, and resources toward removing
bariers to woody biomass industry development.
The County has received an Idaho Renewable Energy Zone (REEZ) grant that is
curently being used to fud the project development activities.
The county's primar industry in 2000 was based on agricultue, forestry, fishing and
hunting, and mining, which employed 18.4 percent of the civilan workforce but is down from
25.4 percent in 1990. County employment in the forest products sector has been in a multi-
decade decline. The County's education system is suffering as a result, and has initiated teacher
pay cuts of 19 percent. Declining enrollments have only exacerbated problems with the
education system. Enrollment in grades 7- 12 has been cut in half over the last ten years. Adams
County's anual average unemployment rate in 2009 was the highest in the state at 15.1 percent.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' (2010) data show that Adams County's March unemployment
rate exceeded 20 percent in 12 of the last 20 years, and exceeded 25 percent in 7 of those years.
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Comments in Opposition of the Board of County Commissioners
of Adams County GNR -E-IO-04
The purose of the proposed biomass project is to provide local, living wage jobs that can
serve as a foundation for stabilizing the local economy. The project would provide short-term
jobs constrcting the plant as well as long-term jobs in plant operations and in-the-woods jobs in
biomass collection and transporttion. As an adjunct to saw timber haresting and forest
thinning, biomass collection would provide ancilar benefits in terms of forest management,
habitat improvement, and wildlife fuel reduction. The proposed plant will create 20 to 25 full-
time jobs that would pay a living wage. In addition, the haresting and delivery of woody
biomass to the plant would create up to 100 new jobs. The $25 milion plant would take up to l4
months to constrct, which would create many short term construction jobs
The interconnection process with Idaho Power has matued to the facilities study phase.
The County has had multiple meetings with Idaho Power's transmission interconnection
personnel and has concluded that the interconnection wil not be a problem to bring this project
to frition. Adams County is not yet in a position to execute a power purchase agreement due to
the high security posting requirements curently being required by the utilities.
NON-WIND PURP A RESOURCES SHOULD
BE EXCLUDED FROM THE JOINT MOTION TO REDUCE THE ELIGIBILITY
CAP FOR PUBLISHED AVOIDED COST RATES
Because Adams County's project will be fueled by woody biomass and not wind, it
should not be subjected to the Utilities' request to reduce the eligibilty cap for published
avoided cost rates. It is clear that the driving force and sole concern of the Power Companes, in
their request to reduce the eligibility cap for published PURP A rates, is the amount of wind
resources being offered by the development community. Not once does the Joint Petition refer to
problems associated with biomass, or any other type ofPURPA eligible QF resource. These
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Comments in Opposition of the Board of County Commissioners
of Adams County GNR-E-IO-04
other types of resources have very different generating characteristics from wind and should
therefore not be caught in the uneasonably broad scope of the Joint Motion. As alleged in the
Joint Motion:
Idaho Power today has over 208 MW of wind generation currently operating on
its system. Idaho Power has over 264 MW of Commission-approved QF wind contracts,
many of which are currently under construction and scheduled to be on-line by
December 31,2010. Idaho Power also has 80 MW ofQFwindpending approval at the
Commission. In addition Idaho Power has over 570 MW of new QFwind contract
requests, some of which are signifcantly mature and close to having executed contracts.
In total, Idaho Power could have over 1,100 MW of wind powered generation on its
system in the near term, which exceeds the minimum loads experienced on Idaho Power's
system this year.
The same situation exists with Rocky Mountain Power. As of today, RMP has 64
MW of wind QF contracts executed; however none have achieved commercial operation,
and another 358 of standard wind QF contracts are proposed.
Joint Motion and Petition at 3 -4, (emphasis provided).
Clearly, the Power Companies have presented no basis to be concerned about resources
other than wind. As pointed out in the Answer fied by the J. R. Simplot Company, Idaho
Power's queue for non-wind PURP A projects is very small. The following constitutes the entire
universe of potential non-wind PURPA projects active in the Idaho Power queue1:
1 Rounded to the nearest whole MW number.
4
Comments in Opposition of the Board of County Commissioners
of Adams County GNR-E-IO-04
DATED this 22nd day of December, 2010.
Comments in Opposition of the Board of County Commissioners
of Adams County GNR-E-IO-04
RICHARDSON AND O'LEARY, PLLC
BY_£4t~
Peter J. Richardson
Gregory M. Adams
Attorneys fur Board of County
Commissioners of Adams County, Idaho
6
Hydro (two projects) 2 MW
Geothermal (one project) 36 MW
Landfill (two projects) 19 MW
Biomass (two projects) 30 MW
Biogass (six projects) 12 MW
Solar (eight projects) 125 MW
Solar/Wind (two projects) 60 MW2
Granting the Joint Motion potentially jeopardizes Adams County's project along with all
of these projects to the extent they do not already have an executed power purchase agreement.
It also clearly jeopardizes new projects from developing. The Commission should be cognizant
of the impact a reduction in the eligibility cap will have on the livelihoods of those living in and
around Adams County. This project not only brings jobs and value to the local community, but
the dollars Idaho Power's ratepayers pay for purchasing the output of the Adams County project
will stay in Idaho.
Because the Joint Motion only references wind QF projects as being of concern to the
Power Companies, there is simply no foundation or offer of evidence suggesting that this
Commission can or should suspend its long history of implementing PURP A for non-wind
projects smaller than 10 average monthy megawatts.
WHEREFORE, the Board of Commissioners of Adams County, Idaho
respectfully requests that this Commission deny the Joint Motion to reduce the eligibilty cap
from the curent 10 average monthly megawatts to 100 kw.
2 It is not clear what a solar/wind project is. They are included on the list in order to make it as
comprehensive as possible.
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Comments in Opposition of the Board of County Commissioners
of Adams County GNR-E-lO-04
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I HEREBY CERTIFY that on the 22nd day of December, 2010, a tre and correct
copy of the within and foregoing COMMENTS IN OPPOSITION OF THE BOARD OF
COMMISSIONERS OF ADAMS COUNTY, IDAHO was served by ELECTRONIC MAIL
and US MAIL, to:
Donovan E. Walker
Lisa Nordstrom
Idaho Power Company
1221 West Idaho Street
Boise, Idaho 83707-0070
dwalker(ßidahopower .com
lnordstrom(ßidahopower .com
Ronald L. Willams
Wiliams Bradbur, P.C.
1015 W. Hays St.
Boise ID, 83702
ron(ßwiliamsbradbur .com
Daniel E. Solander
Rocky Mountain Power
201 South Main
Salt Lake City, UT 84111
Daniel.solander(ßpacificorp.com
Scott Montgomery
President, Cedar Creek Wind, LLC
668 Rockwood Drive
North Salt Lake, Uta 84054
scott(ßwesternenergy. us
Michael G. Andrea
A vista Corporation
1411 East Mission Avenue - MSC-23
Spokane, W A 99202
Michael.andrea(ßavistacorp.com
Dana Zentz
Vice President, Sumit Power Group, Inc.
2006 E. Westminster
Spokane, W A 99223
dzentz(ßsummitpower.com
Jean Jewell
Commission Secretary
Idaho Public Utilties Commission
472 West Washington
Boise, Idaho 83702
Jean. j ewell(ßpuc.idaho. gov
Scott Woodbur
Idaho Public Utilties Commission
472 W. Washington (zip: 83702)
P.O. Box 83720
Boise, ID 83720-0074
Scott. Woodbur(ßipuc.idaho.gov
Don Sturevant
Energy Director
J. R. Simplot Company
ONE CAPITAL CENTER
999 Main Street, P.O. Box 27
Boise, Idaho 83707-0027
Don.sturtevant(ßsimplot.com
Robert A. Paul
Grand View Solar
15960 Vista Circle
Desert Hot Springs, CA
robertpaul(ßgmail.com
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Comments in Opposition of the Board of County Commissioners
of Adams County GNR-E-IO-04
Thomas H. Nelson
Renewable Energy Coalition
PO Box 1211
Welches, OR 97067
nelson(Ðthnelson.com
James Carkulis
Managing Member
EXERGY DEVELOPMENT GROUP OF
IDAHO,LLC
802 West Banock Street, Ste. 1200
Boise, Idaho 83702
j carkulis(ßexergydevelopment.com
Glenn Ikemoto
Margaret Rueger
Idaho Windfars, LLC
glenni(ÐEnvision Wind.com
Margaret(ßEnvision Wind. com
R. Greg Ferney
Mimura Law Offices, PLLC
2176 E. Franlin Rd., Suite 120
Meridian, ID 83642
greg(ßmimuralaw.com
By:D.6~ .N\.ÚVvhl
Nina M. Curis
Comments in Opposition of the Board of County Commissioners
of Adams County GNR-E-IO-04
Bil Piske, Manager
Interconnect Solar Development, LLC
1303 E. Carer
Boise, ID 83706
bil piske(ßcab leone.net
Dean J. Miler, Esq.
McDEVITT & MILLER LLP
P.O. BOX 2564-83701
Boise, Idaho 83702
ioe(ßmcdevitt -miler .com
Paul Marin
Intermountain Wind LLC
P.O. Box 353
Boulder, Colorado
paulmarin(ßintermountainwind.com
Wade Thomas
General Counsel, Dynamis Energy
776 E. Riverside Drive, Suite 15
Eagle, ID 83616
Telephone [phone]
wthomas(ßdynamisenerg.com
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