The Northwest Power and Conservation Council recently published its 2029 resource adequacy assessment.
The report summarizes the aggregate regional power supply’s adequacy for the 2029 operating year (October 2028 through September 2029).
Council staff works closely with advisory committees on developing and evaluating modeling assumptions, data, and results that culminate in measuring system adequacy risks -- using the council’s multi-metric approach.
The council’s annual adequacy assessment is a five-year test of the power plan’s resource strategy to ensure that it will provide an adequate future power supply.
The study finds that the region must continue implementing the resource strategy outlined in the 2021 Power Plan.
Achieving energy efficiency consistent with the high end of the Council’s target, pursuing renewable deployment of around 6,600 MW by 2029, and ensuring sufficient balancing reserves and demand response are all necessary to maintaining an adequate power system, the NPCC said.
“Areas of risk remain, however. The same strategy, but only pursuing the low end of the Council’s energy efficiency target, would not provide for an adequate system. Further, if data center load growth accelerates and more closely aligns with utility projections in the region by 2029, the resource strategy will also be insufficient to maintain adequacy,” the NPCC said.
The assessment "captures the rapid changes the grid is going to experience by 2029, including unprecedent load growth uncertainty, announced coal-to-gas conversions and anticipated transmission expansion in the region," the council said.
The council will continue tracking and planning for these risk factors in the development of the upcoming Power Plan and the eventual resource strategy to address the evolving needs of the region.
After the analysis for the 2029 adequacy assessment was completed, an agreement in principle on the changes of the Columbia River Treaty was announced by the US and Canadian governments in July. This agreement still must be ratified by both nations. The Council will continue to evaluate the impact on power system planning and resource adequacy in future analyses.
For more information about results from the 2029 Resource Adequacy Assessment, read the full presentation to the Council & watch the video.
