Just as California does for it’s exports.

Feel free to isolate California from the rest of the world.

One detail that doesn’t get much attention is how the Time of Delivery (TOD) factors, that are built into the PPA’s that PG&E, SCE, etc. have entered into to meet the 33%RES, affects generation costs at super peak times.
http://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/WORD_PDF/FINAL_RESOLUTION/154753.PDF

The 2011 Market Price Referent price has gone down since I have been following the market for RE (2008). On the other hand the TOD premium has gone up. The Super Peak Time of Delivery factor for 2008 contracts with PG&E was 2.01 for the June-Sept time frame. The December 1, 2011 Resolution, linked above, indicates that the TOD factor for the same time period has increased to 2.38.

PG&E is paying the utility scale PV investors over $.20 kWh for generation at super peak times before they have to pay for the new transmission infrastructure and allocate costs for distribution and back up power services. It’s a tad misleading to talk about the Market Price Referent dropping for PV without noting the premiums being paid to secure RE via the TOD factors.

Link here: http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/OAS-RA-12-01.pdf

On August 27, 2012, it was publicly reported that Enbridge repaid a $161 million loan from the Western Area Power Administration for the Montana Alberta Tie Line (MATL).

Link here: http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/enbridge-repays-us-federal-transmission-infrastructure-program-loan-on-montana-alberta-tsx-enb-1694654.htm

WAPA has funded three projects under the loan authority that would not be affected because they are “grandfathered” under the legislation, WAPA spokesman Randy Wilkerson said Friday. They are the TransWest Express Transmission Project ($25 million), the Montana Alberta Tie Line that is being built from Lethbridge, Alberta to Great Falls, Montana ($161 million), and Electrical District 5 – Palo Verde Hub in Arizona ($91 million).

LINK: http://www.wusa9.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=167592

When wind and solar farm operators and the California Public Utilities Commission cite the falling cost of green power they leave out the mounting cost of new transmission lines and newer regulating facilities needed to balance the grid to prevent spontaneous and mysterious blackouts.

Do we have a definitive answer yet what caused the San Diego blackout in 2011 yet? Nope.

Western sells and transmits power generated at 14 different multipurpose water resource projects throughout the West, organized into 10 independently managed and financed rate-setting systems. (http://ww2.wapa.gov/sites/Western/about/Pages/default.aspx)

Since rates are calculated independently for each project to ensure the rate recovers all costs associated with that project, and only that project, California rate payers only pay for costs associated with the Central Valley Project and the Washoe Project.

This brings us to the crux of the misconceptions in the article. Western provided initial financing for the Montana Alberta Tie Ltd. Project through its Transmission Infrastructure Program (http://ww2.wapa.gov/sites/western/recovery/Pages/default.aspx), using money available to it from the U.S. Treasury. MATL was also financed as a separate and distinct project from the hydropower projects. In the initial plan, Western would repay the U.S. Treasury using revenue generated by selling capacity, or space, on the transmission line to local utilites in Alberta and Montana. However, Western’s share in the project was bought out by developer Enbridge, who repaid, in full, Western’s financing for MATL. We have since returned the funds to the U.S. Treasury. In other words, California rate payers did not pay any of the costs associated with the Montana Alberta Tie Ltd. Project.

The section on the “Montana to Alberta Tie Line” talks about a “mandate” (FERC Order 1000) imposed on Western to finance the MATL Project. There was no mandate to finance the MATL Project. The project applied for financing through Western’s Transmission Infrastructure Program, which is authorized to borrow up to $3.25 billion from the U.S. Treasury to finance the development of transmission projects that helps deliver renewable energy to market across the West. The MATL Project was selected because it met all the criteria for financing.

FERC Order No. 1000 requires regional transmission planning and cost allocation to all utilities under its jurisdiction in the nation.

Regarding the discussion of San Diego Gas & Electric’s investment in the Rim Rock Wind Farm, San Diego Gas & Electric has received benefits from its investment. It would be appropriate to talk with them.

To conclude, California ratepayers did not pay for the MATL line.

1) “These facilities include the Whirlwind Substation, Colorado River
Substation expansion, West of Devers Project, South of Kramer Project, Lugo-Pisgah
Transmission Project, Red Bluff Substation, and the Eldorado-Ivanpah Transmission
5 Project. The final total of these facilities is not determined but will certainly amount to
the billions of dollars of new transmission, and accounts for most of the new transmission being developed to interconnect renewable resources. All of this cost, along with the risk of abandoned plant or stranded assets, is being borne by the consumer.

2) “The Commission should take away at least two points from the May 14th Workshop. First, transmission costs are increasing at a staggering pace, and no longer represent a de minimis portion of the overall electric bill.”

http://www.energy.ca.gov/2012_energypolicy/documents/2012-05-14_workshop/comments/2012-05-31_Post_Workshop_Comments_of_the_California_Municipal_Utilities_Association_TN-65532.pdf

But natural gas power plants are two thirds less polluting than coal fired power plants. Green power is clean but does not eliminate the need for gas fired backup up power plants. So trading a third as much air pollution for green power that still has about a third of the air pollution because it needs gas fired backup power plants isn’t much of an environmental or economic gain.

Those who live in glass housed windmills shouldn’t throw stones.