Avista and Chelan County Public Utility District (PUD) have announced they have finalized a contract for renewable hydropower from two PUD hydro projects on the Columbia River in Washington state, US.
The contract provides Avista with 5% of the output from the PUD’s Rock Island and Rocky Reach hydropower projects from 2024 through 2033. This contract complements an existing deal between Avista and the PUD, and it will mean 10% of the renewable hydropower output from the two PUD projects will supply Avista customers.
The contract is the result of Avista’s 2020 Renewables Request for Proposals that solicited up to 300MW of clean, existing or new, renewable resources. The request was aligned with Avista’s 2020 Integrated Resource Plan which identified a need for new renewable energy.
“We’re pleased with the collaborative approach during our negotiations with Avista as we work to deliver more renewable energy to its customers in support of a healthy environment and strong economy in the Pacific Northwest,” said PUD General Manager Steve Wright. “This partnership also supports our long term power marketing strategy toward longer 10-year contracts, bringing value to our customer-owners.”
“Avista was founded on renewable hydropower more than 130 years ago. We are proud to partner with Chelan PUD to bring more clean, reliable and affordable energy to our customers,” added Jason Thackston, Avista’s senior vice president of energy resources. “This brings us closer to our goal to serve customers with 100% clean electricity by 2045 and 100% carbon neutral resources by 2027.”
Rocky Reach Dam on the Columbia River outside Wenatchee, Washington. Photo courtest Wikimedia Commons. Author: SarekOfVulcan
