Variable Energy Studies

Variable Energy Integration Studies

Installed wind and solar generation capacity continues to expand in the Pacific Northwest, including eastern Oregon and southern Idaho. Idaho Power currently integrates 720 megawatts (MW) of wind and 319 MW of solar energy on its system. An additional 120 MW of solar is scheduled to come online in December 2022. Looking to the future, Idaho Power set a goal to reach 100% clean energy by 2045.

Idaho Power completed a Variable Energy Resource (VER) Integration Analysis in 2018, focused on wind, and a Solar Integration Study in 2016. The company is revisiting these studies in 2020. Idaho Power will continue to update these studies as necessary.

The objective of VER integration studies is to assess how operations of dispatchable generating resources must be modified to integrate increasing levels of variable energy while ensuring the reliable delivery of electrical power.

Idaho Power considers the assessment of costs and benefits associated with variable energy resources an important part of efforts to ensure the price it pays for energy is fair to generators and customers alike. The estimation of these integration costs is used by the company to inform other planning and cost assessments including:

Integrated Resource Plan – Integration costs provide a comparative evaluation of variable generation resources to other resource option
Qualifying Facilities defined under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978
Value of distributed energy resources

Use the links below to view materials and information related to the latest variable energy resource studies.

July 2018

2018 Variable Energy Resource Integration Analysis

February 2016

Solar Integration Study Report