Wind power surpasses hydro for the first time ever in Northwest region

By Ted Sickinger, The Oregonian

on October 23, 2012 at 4:00 PM, updated October 24, 2012 at 10:52 AM

File this one under symbolically significant events, or things that sometimes work the way they're supposed to.

Last Tuesday morning, wind farms plugged into the Bonneville Power Administration's transmission network hit a new generation record of 4,289 megawatts. In fact, earlier the same morning, wind farms exceeded the output of the federal hydroelectric system -- the first time that wind energy surpassed water energy in the region.

Moreover, there was no brouhaha over excess energy supply as there was last spring. Everyone went about their business and got paid. Renewables advocates contend that wind actually helped the hydro system.

The wind/water eclipse is primarily the result of BPA's dialing down hydro generation to meet light demand in the early morning.

But it also reflects another surge in wind generation on the Columbia Plateau, including the connection this year of two phases of the massive Shepherd's Flat wind farm in Gilliam and Morrow counties, as well as Puget Sound Energy's Lower Snake Wind farm in southeast Washington. Together, that's an additional 923 megawatts this year added to the region's wind fleet.

To read the entire article go to: http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2012/10/wind_power_surpasses_hydro_for.html#