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Home My WebLink About20101222Comments.pdf(208) 343-7500 (208) 336-6912 (Fax) Via Hand Delivery Jean Jewell, Secretary Idaho Public Utities Commssion 472 W. Washigton St. Boise, Idaho 83720 McDevitt & Miller LLP Lawyers 420 W. Bannock Street P.O. Box 2564-83701 Boise, Idaho 83702 Chas. F. McDevitt Dean J. (Joe) Miler December 22, 2010 ~~~('~..-:~.-..d' Re: Intermountain Wind LLC-GNR-E-l0-04 Dear Ms. Jewell: Enclosed for fig in the above matter, please fid an orial and seven copies of a Comments of Intermounta Wind LLC. Kidly retu a fie staped copy to me. DJM/hh Enclosures Very Truy Yours, McDevitt & Mier LL~tl Dean J. Mier --c:z-(!-0:o Dean J. Miler (ISB No. 1968) Chas. F. McDevitt (ISB No. 835) McDEVITT & MILLER LLP 420 West Banock Street P.O. BOX 2564-83701 Boise, Idaho 83702 Tel: 208-343-7500 Fax: 208-336-6912 joe(tmcdevitt-miler.com REGE!\! intn DEC 22. PM \'2= \ 6 Attorney for Intermountain Wind LLC BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION IN THE MATTER OF THE JOINT PETITION OF IDAHO POWER COMPANY, A VISTA CORPORATION, AND ROCKY MOUNTAIN POWER TO ADDRESS AVOIDED COST ISSUES AND JOINT MOTION TO ADmST THE PUBLISHED AVOIDED COST RATE ELIGIBILITY CAP. Case No. GNR-E-IO-04 COMMENTS OF INTERMOUNTAIN WIND,LLC COMES NOW Intermountan Wind, LLC (Intermountan Wind) and submits the following Comments: Background On November 5, 2010, Idao Power Company, Avista Corporation and Rocky Mountain Power (the Utilty Companies) filed a Joint Petition to Address Avoided Cost Issues and Joint Motion to Adjust the Published Avoided Cost Rate Eligibilty Cap (the Petition). On December 3,2010, the Commission issued Order No. 32131 which solicited written comments on the theshold issue of whether the eligibilty cap for published COMMENTS OF INTERMOUNTAIN WIND, LLC-I avoided cost should be reduced from 10 aMW to 100 k W. In the same Order the Commssion granted Intermountan's then pending Petition to Intervene. Intermountain Wind Intermountan is a family limited liabilty company whose members are Stephen E. Marin and Paul S. Marin, ofIdaho Falls Idaho (the Marins). Through separate entities, the Marins also own agrcultural land in Bonnevile County, Idaho. Commencing in approximately 2006, the Marins and related family members began work to develop a wind generation project upon their agrcultual land and for that purose created an entity known as Black Canyon LLC, which is a Self Certified Quaifying Facilty. Intermountain intends to develop a single 10 aMW project. Since 2006, Intermountan has made substantial progress toward development of the Black Canyon Project. Wind data has been collected onsite since summer 2007. Bonnevile County has approved the project and an Interconnection Agreement has been executed with Pacificorp Transmission Services. Numerous environmental, wind resource and engineering studies have been performed. Intermountain has been working with Pacificorp regarding a PP A for several years but has not moved forward with execution until financing was secured. This was due to the signficant securty deposits that Pacificorp required in order to move forward, inherently discouraging small developers such as Intermountain while making PURP A contracts only available to large, well fuded corporations. Just as Intermountan was succeeding in securng the financing to move forward with these deposits, ths Joint Petition was fied, theatening the projects abilty to move forward. Intermountan has progressed dilgently in an effort to conform to the process as a small developer but is finding that hurdles are continualy established. COMMENTS OF INTERMOUNTAIN WIND, LLC-2 Argment Any Suspension of the Utilities' Obligation to Purchase Should be Narrowly Drawn The Joint Petition requests a blanet reduction of published rate for all PURPA projects-regardless of size or motive force-from 10 aMW to 100 kW. As discussed below, the scope of the proposed remedy is broader than any signficant problem identified in the Joint Petition and would har projects that are not par of the identified problem. The Joint Petition identifies a number of issues that the Utilty Companes believe warant fuer examination by the Commission!. In Intermountan's view, these issues are legitimate topics for discussion, but none of them are of such an urgent natue that PURP A implementation should be halted while they are discussed, as would be the effect of lowering the eligibilty cap as requested by the Joint Petition. These are all issues that have been the subject of ongoing discussion between developers and utilties, either in individua contract negotiations or other forus. They can continue to be discussed, without the necessity of an eligibilty reduction. They are traditional PURP A implementation issues. The problem that is new and that is driving force behind the Joint Petition is the application ofPURPA to large scale commercial projects. As the Joint Petition recites: "A signficant observation that was discussed at the November 3 workshop is the increased size and scale of projects that are able to quaify for the published rate curently. Many of the curent QF projects in actulity are not "small" projects but are large, utilty-scale wind fars that are broken up into 10 aMW increments in order to qualify for the published rates. For Idao Power and RMP, it is commonplace for the nameplate rating of these projects to be in the range of 20 to i These include, valuation of RECs, lack of capacity associated with intermittent resources, transmission constraints, mechanical availabilty guaantee and liquidated damages. Joint Petition at pgs 4-5. COMMENTS OF INTERMOUNTAIN WIND, LLC-3 30 MWs, the same developer to submit an aggregation of six or more "projects" totaing 100 to 150 MW of nameplate rating, and the multiple projects to all share interconnection facilities to one common utilty delivery point. The historical "unsophisticated" QF project developers with a 0.5 MW or a 1.5 MW small hydro canal project-while stil in existence-are no longer the norm and QF projects, for the most par, have evolved to the point where they are sophisticated paries who are very knowledgeable within this field. In many cases, they may have large resources available to them, and in some cases are larger entities than even the utilties themselves." Intermountan does not fit within the Utilty Companies' description of the problem from which they seek relief. Intermountain seeks to develop only one project relevant to this proceeding; it does not seek to aggregate multiple projects. Regardless of how "utility- scale wind far" is defined, Intermountan could not conceivably come within that definition. Intermountain is a family operation, intending to improve the value of lands it owns, not a sophisticated pary with large resources available to it. Whether PURP A published rates should be available to commercial scale projects may be fairly debatable. Whether those rates should be available to paries such as Intermountain is not. An additional reason that supports a narowly drawn eligibilty reduction is that the reduction, once instituted, will likely be in effect for a long time. As the Commission recalls, in the last instace the eligibilty cap was reduced, the Utilty Companes predicted a nine month period in which issues could be examined. The de facto moratorium stretched on for almost two years. Petition of Idaho Power Company for an Order Temporarily Suspending Idaho Power's PURP A Obligation, Case No. IPC-E-05- 22. An eligibilty reduction that is too broadly drawn contrbutes to an undesirable "bust and boom" pattern of renewable energy development in Idaho. If too broadly COMMENTS OF INTERMOUNTAIN WIND, LLC -4 drawn, the eligibility reduction completely prevents development, resulting in pent up demand. Then, when the reduction is finally lifted, developers who had been waiting for the opportunty to develop projects rush forward, creating the apparent need for yet another eligibility reduction. Conclusion An overly broad eligibilty reduction would har projects that are legitimately entitled to access to PURP A published avoided cost rates and would adversely afect the development of renewable energy in Idao. If the Commission is of the opinion that the question of whether commercial size projects should have access to published rates is of suffcient importce as to warant a suspension while the question is examined, a reduction in eligibilty should be narowly drawn so as to affect only projects of that natue. DATED this 'Z,v day of December, 2010. By:~lrrLLC D an J. Miler Attorney for Intermountain Wind LLC COMMENTS OF INTERMOUNTAIN WIND, LLC-5 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE . fI'lf'Ò I hereby certify that on the.f day of December, 2010, I caused to be served, via the methodes) indicated below, true and correct copies of the foregoing document, upon: Jean Jewell, Secretar Idaho Public Utilties Commission 472 West Washington Street P.o. Box 83720 Boise, il 83720-0074 ¡ ¡ewe llaipuc.state. id. us Hand Delivered Jl U.S. Mail ... Fax ... Fed. Express ... Email ... Donovan Walker Lisa Nordstrom Idaho Public Utilties Commission 472 West Washington Street P.o. Box 83720 Boise, il 83720-0074 dwalkeraiidahopower.com lnordstromaiidahopower.com Hand Delivered U.S. Mail Fax Fed. Express Email Donald L. Howell, II Kristine A. Sasser Deputy Attorneys General Idaho Public Utilties Commission 472 W. Washington (83702) PO Box 83720 Boise, il 83720-0074 don.howellCipuc.idaho. gov kris.sasserCipuc.idaho. gov Hand Delivered U.S. Mail Fax Fed. Express Email ...... -.... JL -. -....... lL Hand Delivered ... U.S. Mail ... Fax ... Fed. Èxpress ... Email )i Hand Delivered ... U.S. Mail ... Fax ... Fed. Express ... Email ~ Michael C. Andrea A visita Utilties P.O. Box 3727 1411 E. Mission Ave Spokane, W A 99220-3727 Michael.andreaaiavistacorp.com Daniel So lander Rocky Mountain Power One Utah Center 201 S. Main Street, Suite 2300 Salt Lake City, UT 84111 daniel.solanderaipacificorp.com COMMENTS OF INTERMOUNTAIN WIND, LLC-6 Ted S. Sorenson, P.E.Hand Delivered ... Birch Power Company u.S. Mail ... 5203 South 11th East Fax ... Idaho Falls, il 83404 Fed. Express ... ted(itsoreson.net Email )4 Ronald L. Wiliams Hand Delivered ... Wiliams Bradbury u.S. Mail ... 10 15 W. Hays Street Fax ... Boise, il 83702 Fed. Express ... ron(iwilliamsbradbury.com Email ;L Glenn Ikemoto Hand Delivered ... Margaret Rueger U.S. Mail ... Idaho Wind Fars, LLC Fax ... 672 Blair Avenue Fed. Express ... Piedmont, California 9461 i Email jL glenni(iEnvision Wind.com margaret(iEnvision Wind.com Greg Ferney Hand Delivered ... Mimura Law Offce U.S. Mail ... 2176 E. Franklin Road Fax ... Meridian, il 83642 Fed. Express ... greg(imimuralaew.com Email ~ Thomas H. Nelson Hand Delivered ... P.O. Box 1211 U.S. Mail ... Welches, OR 97067 Fax ... nelson(ithnelson.com Fed. Express ... Email 9' Shelly Davis Hand Delivered ... Barker Rosholt & Simpson LLP U.S. Mail ... 1010 W. Jefferson, Suite 102 Fax ... P.O. Box 2139 Fed. Express ... Boise, il 83701-2139 Email f-brs(iidahowaters.com Robert D. Kahn Hand Delivered ... Executive Director U.S. Mail ... Northwest and Intermountain Power Fax ... Producers Coalition Fed. Express ... 1 17 Minor Ave., Suite 300 Email j-Seattle, W A 98101 rkahaYnippc.org COMMENTS OF INTERMOUNTAIN WIND, LLC-7 Don Sturtevant Hand Delivered .u Energy Director U.S. Mail .u J.R. Simp lot Company Fax .u PO Box 27 Fed. Express .u Boise, il 83707-0027 Email ~ don.sturtevant(isimplot.com Robert A. Paul Hand Delivered .u Grand View Solar II u.S. Mail .u 15960 Vista Circle Fax .u Desert Hot Springs, CA Fed. Express .u robertapaul(igmail.com Email ~ James Carkulis Hand Delivered .u Managing Member U.S. Mail .u Exergy Development Group of Idaho, LLC Fax .u 802 W. BanockSt., Suite 1200 Fed. Express .u Boise, ID 83702 Email ~jcarkulis(iexergydevelopment.com Scott Montgomery Hand Delivered .u President U.S. Mail .u Cedar Creek Wind, LLC Fax .u 668 Rockwood Dr.Fed. Express .u North Salt Lake, UT 84054 Email :; E-mail: scott(iwestemenergy.us Dana Zentz Hand Delivered .u Vice President U.S. Mail .u Summit Power Group, Inc.Fax .u 2006 E. Westminster Fed. Express .u Spokane, W A 99223 Email ¥t dzentz(isummitpower .com JohnR. Lowe Hand Delivered .u Consultant to Renewable Energy Coalition U.S. Mail .u 12050 SW Tremont St.Fax .u Portland, OR 97225 Fed. Express .u jravensanarcos(iyahoo .com Email ~ Bil Piske, Manager Hand Delivered .u Interconnect Solar Development, LLC U.S. Mail .u 1303 E. Carer Fax .u Boise, il 83706 Fed. Express .u bil piske(icab leone .net Email 'i COMMENTS OF INTERMOUNTAIN WIND, LLC-8 Wade Thomas Hand Delivered ~-. General Counsel u.s. Mail ~-. Dynamis Energy, LLC Fax ~-. 776 W. Riverside Dr., Suite 15 Fed. Express ~ÆEagle, ID 836 16 Email wthomas~dynamisenerg.com Brian Olmstead Hand Delivered ~-. General Manager U.S. Mail ~-. Twin Falls Canal Company Fax ~-. PO Box 326 Fed. Express ~-. Twin Falls, ID 83303 Email )lolmstead~tfcanal.com Ted Diehl Hand Delivered ~-. General Manager U.S. Mail ~-. North Side Canal Company Fax ~-. 921 N. Lincoln St.Fed. Express ~¡Jerome, ID 83338 Email nscanal~cableone.net COMMENTS OF INTERMOUNTAIN WIND, LLC-9