Pumped Storage Letter 509

OFFICES OF THE GOVERNORS C.L. “BUTCH” OTTER IDAHO

BRIAN SCHWEITZER MONTANA

THEODORE R. KULONGOSKI OREGON

CHRISTINE O. GREGOIRE WASHINGTON

May 28, 2009

The Honorable Dr. Steven Chu Secretary of Energy U.S. Department of Energy 1000 Independence Avenue SW Washington, DC 20585-1000 Dear Secretary Chu: We are united in support of the Bonneville Power Administration’s (BPA’s) recent requests for funding to study future sources of capacity and flexibility and assess potential pumped storage sites for integrating wind and other renewable resources into the Pacific Northwest’s energy system. With 2,000 megawatts currently interconnected and operating in the region, wind power is the single largest resource consuming the system’s balancing reserves. While the Northwest’s hydroelectric system is a valuable resource to integrate wind into the power system, there is a limit to how much it can support. The total amount of wind energy in the BPA control area is expected to be 6,000 megawatts by 2013, although the hydroelectric system’s ability to supply balancing reserves is projected to be exhausted sometime in 2011. Consequently, there is broad technical and policy consensus across the Western United States to develop increased system flexibility, energy storage, and balancing reserves to manage the rapid expansion of wind generation and other intermittent renewable resources. We believe that pumped storage technology warrants further analysis and that funding is integral to supporting a better understanding of the process and its application in the Northwest’s energy system.

The Honorable Dr. Steven Chu May 28, 2009 Page 2 The Pacific Northwest, with its significant hydroelectric resources and growing commitment to wind energy, would be an excellent proving ground for this emissions-free technology. We respectfully urge you to approve BPA’s request for funding for this purpose. Thank you for your attention to this important matter. Sincerely,

C.L. “Butch” Otter Governor of Idaho

Brian Schweitzer Governor of Montana

Theodore R. Kulongoski Governor of Oregon

Christine O. Gregoire Governor of Washington

cc:

Northwest Congressional delegation Steve Wright, Administrator, Bonneville Power Administration

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