PGE issues all-source RFP for dispatchable, renewable generation

Wheatridge Renewable Energy Facility (Credit: PGE)

Portland General Electric (PGE) issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) seeking bids for resources that can provide non-emitting dispatchable capacity and renewable generation projects.

This “All-Source” RFP eliminates specific technology requirements, opening the application process for full competition of all non-emitting resources that are widely deployed and consistent with Oregon’s energy policy, PGE said.

The utility said this is its largest open application process to date and is the first in the company’s recent history to provide a flexible timeline for the start of operations.

This RFP, which accepts proposals for resources with a start date between 2025 and the end of 2027, is meant to be consistent with the objectives described in PGE’s 2023 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), which was acknowledged by the Oregon Public Utility Commission (OPUC) on January 25, 2024. PGE will accept and evaluate bids throughout the first quarter of 2024 and present a shortlist of top-performing projects for OPUC acknowledgment later in the year.

Last year, PGE released a new Clean Energy Plan in addition to its IRP, which both focus on the addition of more community-based renewable energy (CBRE). In its IRP, PGE forecasts a significant capacity need of 1136 MW in summer, 1004 MW in winter and a significant energy need of 905 MWa (~2,500 MW nameplate) by 2030. To help meet that need, it plans to add up to 155 MW of CBRE resources by 2030 with plans to pursue at least 66 MW by 2026.

At the time, the utility said it also planned to conduct one or more RFPs for an additional 181 MWa (~520 MW nameplate) of non-emitting generation and sufficient capacity to remain resource-adequate each year.

The Clean Energy Plan includes:

• New utility scale renewable projects like wind and solar installations, both in-state and out-of-state.
• Non-emitting capacity such as batteries.
• CBRE resources, small distributed energy resources that include battery storage and solar, which can make customers more resilient and save them money.
• Customer-sited solutions including energy efficiency and demand response programs.
• Upgrades to local transmission lines and new regional transmission solutions to accommodate growth and bring a greater geographic diversity of resources to PGE’s portfolio.

PGE said 2030 emissions targets can be met with technologies and resources that are currently known and commercially available. The utility said to meet 2040 targets, new technologies not yet commercially available that can replicate thermal generation dispatchable capacity, such as advanced nuclear, hydrogen or carbon capture and storage, will be needed to support decarbonization and resource adequacy.

PGE also said its natural gas-fired plants would continue to play a role in meeting resource adequacy needs during the clean energy transition. The utility said it would “continue to invest in the efficiency, safety and emissions controls of those facilities as appropriate.”