Community Renewable Energy

Community Energy for Utilities

Community renewable resources have many benefits to electric utilities.  As Bonneville Power Administration moves away from a model of acquiring new resources to meet utilities’ load growth, renewables can present a cost-effective, as well as locally popular, resource for the area’s public and private utilities.  Community renewables have the added benefit of keeping dollars in the local community.  At the same time, they can sometimes present challenges, particularly for utilities unused to working with independent generator developers or particular types of generation.  

This site describes the major types of renewable generating resources that are currently being developed in the Pacific Northwest.   Separate sections on each major type of resource can be found by clicking on the tab at the top of this page.   In addition, a separate section entitled Utility Relationships describes both the benefits and special challenges associated with the relationship between utilities and renewable developers.  In particular the site provides some tools for resolving questions dealing with interconnection and power purchase agreements.