Aggregation

The Public Renewables Partnership (PRP) was originally established for the purpose of aggregating demand for renewable energy technologies among consumer-owned utilities. Our organizational objectives included:

• Aggregating demand for renewable energy among consumer-owned utilities
  
  
• Moving renewable energy into mainstream power planning process
  
  
• Identifying opportunities for public power joint-ownership of renewable energy projects
  
  
• Developing a replicable model for joint-ownership of renewable energy projects
  
  
• Identifying distributed generation (DG) technologies and applications that support a reliable grid
  
  
• Developing a replicable model for DG technologies and applications that will advance the use of DG
  

Based on these cornerstone objectives, the PRP is encouraging consumer-owned utilities, including electric cooperatives, municipal utilities and tribal utility authorities, to work together to create regional demand for renewable energy projects. The power industry's current practice is to acquire renewable electricity piecemeal through separate request for proposals (RFPs) issued by each individual distribution utility.

Hoover Dam was not built in 10- or even 100-MW chunks. Nor should new renewable generation capacity be if it is to be an effective price hedge to fossil fuel-based generation.

Aquisition strategies

Aquiring small megawatt bites of renewable energy through requests for proposals and other means provides diversity and unit flexibility. However, this strategy fails to put renewable-based generation on par with large multi-gigawatt fossil fuel power plants.

One 500-MW gas-fired combustion turbine project overshadows even a 100-MW RFP for renewable-based electric generation. When that RFP is fulfilled with multiple renewable developers, the effect of the purchase is further weakened. Under such a process, the installed renewable generation base will never reach sufficient critical mass to be the kind of effective hedge against fossil fuel price volatility that hydro was in the past.

Now that a number of renewable resources are near price parity with fossil fuel-based electric generation, consumer-owned utilities need a comprehensive strategy to acquire a balanced portfolio of cost-effective, renewable-based resources in quantities comparable to their fossil fuel generation resource base.

Organizations interested in aggregating demand

There are several organizations that have expressed interest in aggregating demand for renewable resources among consumer owned utilities across a regional geographic area. These organizations have been listed below. The Public Renewables Partnership encourages you to contact these organizations and begin discussions regarding your renewable energy needs. If possible, these organizations will assist with the aggregation of renewable energy projects to the benefit of your utility.

• Clean Power Coop
• Cooperative Community Energy
• Golden State Power Cooperative
• Last Mile Electric Cooperative
• Southern California Public Power Authority
  

If you know of other organizations willing to assist with aggregating renewable resources among consumer-owned utilities across state and regional areas, contact Randy Manion.