20131008Comment.pdf

October 7,2013
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Idaho Public Utilities Commission
P.O.Box $3720
Boise,Idaho $3 720-0074
Dear PUC commissioners and staff,
Regarding case No.IPC-E-13-15
Please reject Idaho Power’s 2013 IRP.Ask Idaho Power to resubmit it with accurate
solar data.
Utility-scale photovoltaic prices continue to decline:
-Palo Alto just signed a 30-year 80 MW photovoltaic Power Purchase Agreement for
$.069 per KWh.
-Macho Springs,a 50 megawatt photovoltaic plant in New Mexico,recently signed a
Power Purchase Agreement for $.0579 per KWh.
-Xcel Energy plans to build 170 MW of photovoltiacs with single-axis trackers in
Colorado because it is “the most reliable and most cost-effective”resource.
According to page 67 of the 2013 IRP,combined cycle combustion turbines deliver
power at $.104 to $.106 per KWh.The photovoltaic projects listed above deliver power
cheaper than this.Also on page 67,it is estimated that the Boardman to Hemingway
transmission line will deliver power at $.0$9 per KWh.The photovoltaic projects listed
above deliver power cheaper than this.
I attended the meetings of the Integrated Resource Plan Advisory Council throughout the
late 2012 and early 2013 meeting cycle and many times brought up how cheap
photovoltaics was becoming.I felt Idaho Power was not as excited about these new
developments as I was.Society now can turn economically to renewable energy.But I
learned Idaho Power would rather bum coal and natural gas.
Please ask Idaho Power to consult the new study by the Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory entitled “Utility-Scale Solar 2012:An Empirical Analysis of Project Cost,
Performance,and Pricinglrends in the United States.”This third-party study lays out the
dramatic declines in costs for photovoltiacs.
Internationally,photovoltaic deployment is growing rapidly (which reduces the costs for
everyone because of economies of scale).Germany has over 34,000 megawatts of
photovoltaics.Italy,Spain,Australia,China and Japan all have large capacities of
photovoltaics.
Idaho ratepayers deserve better and more thorough analyses of photovoltaics by Idaho
Power.Please reject Idaho Power’s 2013 IRP and request that they resubmit more
accurate solar information.
Thanks.
Reed Burkholder [e-mail]
6105 Twin Springs Drive
Boise,Idaho $3709
323-8355