Energy report forecasts challenges without more energy sources, policy changes

EPHRATA — More demand for electricity, changing demand for electricity, constraints on the existing supply and other factors will lead to an energy shortage without some changes to Washington state goals and more flexibility in energy supply, according to a report commissioned by regional power providers. The report was reviewed by Grant County Public Utility District Commissioners on May 26. 

Chuck Allen, PUD senior manager of external affairs and communications, said Friday that the report found a gap between anticipated demand and available supply.  

“What we’re short on in the Northwest is reliable, dispatchable generation,” Allen said. “The study is showing how short we are on that.”  

The report, written by Energy and Environment Economics, San Franscisco, found that the gap between demand and supply is projected to be nine gigawatts by 2023 and would continue to grow after that, unless some changes are made.  

“Nine gigawatts is approximately the energy load needed to power the state of Oregon,” Allen wrote in a press release.  

Part of the challenge is that existing carbon-based forms of energy generation are being phased out without being replaced with sources that are equally reliable, the report said. Reliable low-carbon or clean energy sources exist, but the region is not building them, it said. Another challenge is a lack of transmission lines and other infrastructure, as well as permitting delays that slow construction. 

The Northwest will need new energy sources – and they’re out there, the report said, but to make it work will require making use of a lot of them. It recommended working to improve energy efficiency, renewables like wind and solar, investigating geothermal potential, and adding natural gas as an option. 

A lot of the demand will come from the I-5 corridor, which will need either new generation or more transmission lines. Wind and solar options are limited on the west side, the report said.  

The state of Washington has adopted the goal of eliminating all carbon-based energy by 2045, Allen said. 

Part of the challenge is “energy peaks,” times of high demand throughout the region, the report said. Utilities could respond to shortfalls by cutting service to some customers when demand outstrips supply, but that wouldn’t fill the gap, the report said.  

Natural gas would help fill the gaps, it said, both when demand outstrips supply during peak demand, and throughout the region while newer types of energy generation are developed. 

Over time, the need for natural gas would be reduced as other energy sources were added. Not adding natural gas for times of peak demand doesn’t help reduce emissions, the report said.