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Portland General Electric to Develop Large Wind Farm

Portland General Electric on Tuesday announced plans to acquire the development rights for what would be the largest wind farm in Oregon and one of the largest in the country. If state regulators approve the agreement, which was reached with Oakland, Calif.-based Orion Energy, PGE could begin the first phase of the $200 million project as early as next summer. The turbines would rise from Sherman County’s Biglow Canyon near the Columbia River Gorge town of Wasco. All told, PGE envisions owning a 225-turbine project with a 350- megawatt to 450-megawatt capacity. That’s enough electricity to power about 100,000 homes. The announcement highlights the utility’s embrace of an ambitious investment strategy to reduce its dependence on increasingly expensive wholesale markets and natural gas-fired power plants. “It will help us diversify away from more volatile fuel sources,” said Jim Lobdell, PGE’s vice president of power operations and resource strategy. PGE, a publicly traded company previously owned by the bankrupt Enron, is Oregon’s largest utility, with 775,000 customers. It owns enough thermal and hydro-powered plants to generate about half the power it needs for its residential and business accounts. It relies on the wholesale market for the remainder. Since 2000, wholesale prices […]

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NJ Passes 20% Renewables Requirement

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities voted unanimously in a 4-0 vote that 20% of the electricity used in the state by 2020 will come from renewable sources. BPU president Jeanne M. Fox said the initiative would probably not increase energy costs for citizens, although a Rutgers University study suggested costs would rise 2 percent to 3 percent.

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Baldor 1Q Profit Rises 26%

Baldor Electric Co. (NYSE: BEZ, an efficient motor manufacturer, reported Q1 profits increased 26%, boosted by strong motor sales, and most notably strong sales of Super E high-efficiency motors. Income for the quarter was also up 26% to $11.4 million, or 34 cents per share. Revenue for the quarter was $192.3 million, up 13% from $170.6 million from a year earlier. The company plans to invest $20 million in its plants this year, up from $19.3 million last year, adding it may need to raise prices if copper and aluminum prices remain high.

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