REGION
Tuesday, November 28, 2017
East Oregonian
Page 3A
Real-time energy market eclipses $100M milestone
Additional
utilities set to join
By GEORGE PLAVEN
East Oregonian
Three
years
after
launching a fully automated,
real-time energy exchange
market with California util-
ities, PacifiCorp announced
earlier this month the project
has surpassed $100 million in
total savings for customers.
Bob Gravely, PacifiCorp
spokesman, added the market
is also making it easier for the
company to integrate renew-
able resources such as wind
and solar power onto the elec-
tricity grid without suffering
hiccups in reliability. Pacific
Power serves approximately
17,847 customers in Umatilla
County.
The Western Energy
Imbalance Market was
born Nov. 1, 2014, through
an
agreement
between
PacifiCorp and the Cali-
fornia Independent System
Operator, allowing them to
share power across jurisdic-
tions to match supply with
demand. That means if there
is an overabundance of solar
energy in California or a
surplus of wind blowing in
the Columbia River Gorge,
that electricity can be sent
automatically where it is
needed most at the lowest
possible cost.
Since its launch, six util-
ities covering parts of eight
western states have joined the
market, including Portland
General Electric and Puget
Sound Energy. Another two
utilities, Idaho Power and
Powerex Corporation in
Canada, are scheduled to join
next year, followed by Seattle
City Light, the Sacramento
Municipal Utility District
and Los Angeles Department
Photo by Scott Eastman, contributed by PacifiCorp
As part of its Energy Vision 2020 plan, PacifiCorp would invest $118 million over
three years to upgrade the Leaning Juniper wind farm in Gilliam County with
longer blades and new technology.
of Water and Power in 2019.
The bigger the market
grows, the more options and
flexibility will become avail-
able, Gravely said.
“It’s really kind of
changing the way energy
is distributed around the
region,” he said.
Energy imbalance markets
are not a new concept,
with the exception of the
California ISO, Gravely said
they have been slow to catch
on in the western U.S. Under
the energy imbalance market,
a central operator manages
and distributes electricity
generated at multiple utilities
and power plants, which can
be mixed and matched over a
wide map.
In the past, Gravely said
utilities filled gaps in their
electrical grid by picking up
the phone and making power
purchases from the trading
room floor, but with the
development of more inter-
mittent sources of energy
— namely wind and solar
— that system was becoming
increasingly impractical.
“As we got more wind
and solar where things fluc-
tuate more frequently, it was
becoming harder and harder
for grid operators to use this
old system,” Gravely said.
Now, the California ISO
uses a system of computers to
track the same information,
but can make transactions
automatically every five
minutes.
PacifiCorp still owns its
own transmission lines and
makes its own decisions on
where and when to generate
power, but the energy imbal-
ance market allows them
to pick and choose from
a greater field of low-cost
sources. For example, if
California solar farms are
generating more electricity
than local utilities can use,
PacifiCorp can take that
power on the cheap and scale
back generation at its own
power plants, which provides
savings for customers.
By running coal and
natural gas plants more
efficiently, Gravely said
PacifiCorp was also able to
lower carbon emissions by
12 percent in 2016.
“It’s
enabling
more
renewable energy to take
the place of other resources
that have fuel costs, like coal
and gas, and that also create
emissions,” Gravely said.
The renewable energy
industry is also touting the
economic and environmental
benefits of the energy market.
According to a report released
Monday by the Wind Energy
Foundation, along with the
Portland-based Renewable
Northwest, the total benefits
to all participating markets
is nearly $250 million over
three years.
“The rapid expansion
of the EIM across the West
shows that increased regional
coordination really can
capture the inherent value
of the diverse resources and
weather patterns across our
interconnected grid,” said
Rachel Shimshak, executive
director of Renewable North-
west, in a statement.
That could play a big
role for PacifiCorp and PGE
moving forward, as the
Oregon Legislature passed
a bill in 2016 doubling
the companies’ renewable
energy mandate to 50 percent
by 2040.
Environmental
groups
are calling for a carbon cap
in Oregon as early as the
2018 legislative session.
The proposal would place
a limit on greenhouse gas
emissions, charge companies
and utilities for exceeding the
limit and reinvest the money
in clean energy projects.
PTC uncertainty
A potential wind farm
upgrade in rural Gilliam
County may be in danger
after the House tax bill called
for lowering federal tax
credits for wind projects.
As part of its Energy
Vision 2020 plan, PacifiCorp
would invest $3.5 billion
in the company’s existing
wind fleet across Oregon,
Washington and Wyoming,
fitting turbines with longer
blades and new technology
to increase output and extend
the life of facilities.
One of those projects
would include the 67-turbine,
100-megawatt
Leaning
Juniper wind farm near
Arlington. But Gravely
said the project could be in
jeopardy after a provision in
the latest tax bill lowers the
Production Tax Credit from
2.4 cents per kilowatt-hour
to 1.5 cents per kilowatt-hour
for projects not yet under
construction.
If the credit is reduced,
Gravely said it would be
unlikely that Energy Vision
2020 would move forward.
For Gilliam County, that
would mean losing 59
construction jobs and up to
$1.2 million in added annual
property taxes.
The Senate’s version of the
tax bill, however, would keep
the Production Tax Credit
intact before being phased
out in 2020. Republican Sen.
Chuck Grassley, of Iowa,
has said the Senate plans to
tackle energy tax credits in a
separate bill before the end of
the year.
Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley,
a Democrat and staunch
supporter of renewable
energy, said the wind industry
has proven to be an economic
boon for many Eastern
Oregon communities, and the
House proposal to lower the
Production Tax Credit is both
frustrating and outrageous.
“If we want to spur job
creation, we should invest in
the industries of the future,
like wind energy, not in
further lining the pockets of
the powerful and privileged,”
Merkley said in a statement.
“The D.C. leadership is trying
to ram this bill through in the
next two weeks, so now is the
time for Oregonians to make
their voices heard if they
disagree with this egregious
tax scheme.”
Rep.
Greg
Walden,
Oregon’s lone Republican
congressman, voted yes
on the bill. A spokesman
did not return messages for
comment.
———
Contact George Plaven
at gplaven@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0825.
PENDLETON
HERMISTON
Local white supremacist faces
charges after five years on the lam
Former high school athlete
returns to treat sports injuries
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
Joshua Edward Teel of
Pendleton spent five years
avoiding
the
criminal charges
stemming from his
white supremacists
gang activity. Now
he is back in the
Umatilla County
Jail.
Teel, 28, ran
with a pack of white
supremacists
in
2012 in Pendleton Teel
that harassed and
assaulted an African-Amer-
ican man, according to
Pendleton police at the time.
He pleaded not guilty August
2012 to misdemeanors of
harassment, second-degree
criminal
mischief
and
tampering with physical
evidence and felonies of riot,
third-degree robbery and two
counts of first-degree intimi-
dation. Intimidation is a hate
crime in Oregon.
Teel also faces misde-
meanor charges of assault and
harassment stemming from
a confrontation with another
man in late October 2012.
Umatilla County Circuirt
Court records show Teel did
not make it to a hearing for
that case in December 2012,
and Circuit Judge Christopher
Brauer issued a warrant for
his arrest.
Pendleton Police Chief
Stuart Roberts said Teel
was “living/imprisoned” in
Florida.
“Recently, we
received
infor-
mation that Teel
was in route to
Oregon,” Roberts
said. “We followed
up on information
provided, located,
arrested and lodged
Teel.”
Teel’s
Face-
book page shows he was in
Jacksonville, Florida, and
was in a relationship with a
woman and has children. His
updated profile photo on Oct.
11 shows his many tattoos,
including the Nazi swastika
on his elbow. Some of the
posters on his page espouse
white supremacists and Nazi
statements.
Teel has been in the
Umatilla County Jail, Pend-
leton, since Oct. 26. Circuit
Judge Eva Temple set his bail
at $100,000. His next court
appearance is Dec. 4.
———
Andrew
James
Hendrickson, 24, of 46119
Iskit Lane, Pendleton, pleaded
not guilty Friday to second-de-
gree rape, second-degree
sodomy and three counts of
first-degree sexual abuse.
The Umatilla Tribal Police
Department investigated the
case in 2015, according to
circuit court records, which
at the time led to a Umatilla
County grand jury indictment
and a warrant for his arrest.
Hendrickson also has
a Facebook page, and in
August he posted he lived
near Charlottesville, Virginia.
He claimed on the page to
have attended Blue Mountain
Community College and to
work in social media, video
production and marketing for
Bible-based organizations.
Circuit Judge Christopher
Brauer set Hendrickson’s bail
at $1 million. His next court
hearing is Dec. 12.
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Call to Plateau Indian Artists
Josephy Center for Arts and Culture
With a major grant from Oregon Community Foundation’s “Creative
Heights” program, the Josephy Center will select a Plateau Indian artist
to give his or her work a place in the city of Joseph. The grant includes
an artist’s award of $25,000 and funds for art casting and construction.
Submissions due Jan. 15, 2018.
For details or questions contact:
Rich Wandschneider
541.432.0505
rich.wandschneider@gmail.com
403 N. Main St.
Joseph, OR 97846
www.josephy.org
want to give that same pain
relief and encouragement to
others.”
Scott said his perspec-
tive as an athlete will help
him better understand
patients with injuries from
sports, biking, running,
weightlifting and blue-
collar jobs. He will be part
of a comprehensive pain
management
program,
joining physical medicine
and rehabilitation specialist
Jon Groner, M.D., and
medication manager Julie
Hughes, FNP.
He is taking new patients
at Good Shepherd Medical
Group at 600 N.W. 11th St.
in Hermiston. To make an
appointment call 541-567-
5305.
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A Hermiston graduate
is returning home to join
Good Shepherd Medical
Center as its
newest
chiro-
practor.
Christopher
Scott, D.C., said
in a news release
that he wanted
to come back to
his home town to
“give back to the
community that Scott
has given me so
much over the years.”
“I want to be a role
model for our high school
and college students, and
others, but encouraging
them to set goals and
helping them achieve their
dreams,” he said.
Scott said during his
time as a Hermiston High
School and college athlete
he
received
numerous sports
injuries.
“I
played
running back in
high school and
college football
and ran sprints
and pole vaulted
during
track
season,” he said.
“I remember after
a motocross injury, being
in so much pain and hardly
being able to walk. A local
chiropractor helped relieve
my pain and encouraged
me to keep riding, so I did. I
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