[Vision2020] WTF?

[Ron Force]

Water running through the dams isn't free. The BPA is required by law to make payments to the federal government, paying back the cost of the dams, with interest. Water not run through the turbines is potential wasted, and has to be replaced with power from coal, gas, or wind. Consumer electric companies buy power from BPA at 3 cents/kwh. Wind power sells between 8 and 9 cents/kwh.


"The Bonneville Power Administration is a self-financed federal agency under the Department of Energy. BPA is a not-for-profit agency. It is 
legally mandated to recover all of its costs in the rates it charges 
customers for wholesale electricity and transmission services. The 
agency is committed to careful cost management consistent with its legal obligations, sound business practice and environmental stewardship.
BPA funds all ongoing operations and repays the Federal investment in the Federal Columbia River Power System through the sale of wholesale 
electricity and transmission services. The federal system provides about one-third of the Pacific Northwest's electric energy and three-fourths 
of its high voltage transmission. Each year BPA pays back to the U.S. 
Treasury a portion of the taxpayers' investment in the Federal Columbia 
River Power System, which includes the federal hydropower dams and 
transmission system.
The Bonneville Power Administration paid the U.S. Treasury $830 
million for fiscal year 2011, which ended Sept. 30. This is a full 
annual payment, with interest, on the U.S. taxpayer investment in the 
Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS), which includes the federal 
hydropower dams and transmission system. The Treasury payment included 
$410 million in principal and $382 million in interest.
This fiscal year's $410 million principal payment included $70 
million to repay bonds issued to the U.S. Treasury in excess of the base payment calculated for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 
filings. BPA paid the U.S. Treasury $38 million in other obligations, 
including $31 million of additional funding for post-retirement benefit 
programs provided to employees associated with the operation of the 
FCRPS."

They're also responsible for the ongoing costs of fish and wildlife mitigation, currently at $252 million per year. In the last 30 years, BPA has spent between $8 and $9 billion on salmon recovery.
Here's an article about the conflict between dams and wind power: http://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/12/15/consumers-pay-to-dump-water-over-bpa-dams/



Ron Force
Moscow Idaho USA


________________________________
 From: Art Deco <art.deco.studios at gmail.com>
To: vision2020 at moscow.com 
Sent: Thursday, March 8, 2012 8:04 AM
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] WTF?
 

Thank you.

It is a complex subject. But does it make sense to pay for power not produced when water can be left through the dams free?

Those of us with $200 - $300 per month electricity bills fail to believe the cheapness argument.

w.


On Wed, Mar 7, 2012 at 10:03 PM, Ron Force <rforce2003 at yahoo.com> wrote:

I think it's something like this:
>Wind power is currently not price competitive with hydro-power or natural gas without state laws that require "green energy" and tax breaks. The cost of the machinery to electrolyze water, store the hydrogen, and turn it back into electricity would add to the already non-competitive cost of wind power.
>
>
>The Whistling Ridge project, just approved by Gregoire over the objections of conservationists, is on hold by the developers for economic reasons-- the price of electricity is so low they can't make it pencil out.
> 
>Ron Force
>Moscow Idaho USA
>
>
>________________________________
> From: Art Deco <art.deco.studios at gmail.com>
>To: vision2020 at moscow.com 
>Sent: Wednesday, March 7, 2012 6:03 PM
>Subject: [Vision2020] WTF?
> 
>
>
>Why not use the excess power to electrolyze water into hydrogen and oxygen, store these gases, then use them to generate electricity when the demand is greater?
>
>
>http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/03/07/wind-power-companies-paid-to-not-produce/?test=latestnews
>
>-- 
>Art Deco (Wayne A. Fox)
>art.deco.studios at gmail.com
>
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>serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
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-- 
Art Deco (Wayne A. Fox)
art.deco.studios at gmail.com

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