October 23, 2024

Powering ahead: WPPI plans for 400 MW of new capacity by 2033

Energy

Power supply resources often come with a long lead time of five to 10 years. Beginning in the 2030’s, WPPI will have room to add more capacity. Due to some expiring wind and nuclear contracts, WPPI has room for approximately 400 MW of new resources by 2033. The lengthy lead times make today a great time to begin planning for the upcoming decade.

Helping lead the way is WPPI’s dedicated power supply staff.

To aid their efforts, the power supply staff is using a new resource planning model to develop plans that would address a wide range of potential market futures. Using this tool, staff can see which resources are likely to result in the lowest costs for each of nine market future cases. At this point, a combination of renewable energy resources (especially wind) and gas-fired dispatchable combustion turbines appears to be the best choice.

Power Supply Analyst Shelby Riese offered her insight, “Gas-fired turbines are easy to start, and they protect the power portfolio from volatility as the world continues to rely more heavily on weather dependent wind and solar resources. Battery storage also appears to have a future role but will need to come down in price to be a cost-effective option.”