Energy sources come in many forms, including nuclear, fossil fuels like natural gas, oil and coal and renewable resources like wind and solar. We’re fortunate in the Pacific Northwest to have abundant hydro resources to generate electricity. Hydroelectricity produces zero carbon emissions, helping us provide clean energy to homes and businesses. PenLight purchases about 90% of its power from the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), which oversees hydro generation at 31 federal dams on the Columbia River.
PenLight also receives renewable energy from its Harvest Wind project, which is located near Goldendale, WA. Harvest Wind began operating commercially after construction was completed in 2009. The Harvest Wind project has 43 turbines that collectively generate enough renewable power for over 23,000 homes.
Click on the Harvest Wind tab to learn more about the Harvest Wind project.
Peninsula Light Company must annually report our electricity sources to the Dept. of Commerce, which in turn combines all utility data into a utility report for us to share with our members in the form of a Fuel Mixture Report.
Utilities are required to report their annual fuel mixture information by generation category. PenLight is proud to report that 75% of wholesale electricity purchased in 2020 comes from hydropower. Wind power, a qualifying renewable energy source under the Washington State Energy Independence Act (Initiative 937), makes up 11% of the fuel mix.
The 2020 report further reflects that 10% of the electricity comes from the Columbia Generating Station, the nuclear power plant in south-central Washington. Only 4% of our power comes from BPA’s market purchases and are categorized as “Unspecified” because the specific source of power is not identified. “Unspecified” sources denotes market purchases made by BPA to balance our energy load when our demand changes or our renewable resources require instantaneous adjustment. These purchases can come from any source available — wind, hydro, solar or thermal power plant — depending on what is available at that given moment.
Washington’s Energy Independence Act (I-937) requires each qualifying utility to annually report its progress on June 1st, as it meets established conservation and renewable energy targets. PenLight submitted its recent report to Washington State Department of Commerce, which reflects our conservation achievements as well as our renewable energy target for the upcoming period.
The conservation report summarizes the energy efficiency PenLight achieved through the programs it supported for its members. Energy efficiency measures included installation of heat pumps, smart thermostats, heat pump water heaters, duct sealing, and residential and commercial lighting improvements, as well as improvements to commercial buildings heating and cooling systems and refrigeration controls.
The renewable energy report summarizes the renewable energy resources PenLight acquired to meet its renewable energy target. PenLight utilized Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) from regional wind projects, including Harvest Wind, to meet those requirements.
The objective of this report is to describe the results of PenLight’s Conservation Potential Assessment (CPA), which estimates energy savings available by sector for the time period 2024 to 2043, with an emphasis on the 10-year period of 2024 to 2033 and two-year period of 2024 to 2025. The assessment considered a wide range of conservation resources that are reliable, available and cost‐effective within the 20‐year time horizon.
The conservation measures are based on the Northwest Power and Conservation Council’s 2021 Power Plan, and the methodologies used are consistent with the Council’s methods. The results provide energy savings estimates that will assist PenLight in its future resource and energy-efficiency program planning.
Peninsula Light Co.’s CEIP covers the first Clean Energy Transportation Act (CETA) 4-year interim compliance period beginning in 2022-ending 2025.
Harvest Wind is PenLight’s wind farm located near Goldendale, Washington. PenLight partnered with three other Northwest public utilities to construct this 98.9 Megawatt project, and has a 20% ownership share in the project. This project was completed in December 2009, and has 43 wind turbines that collectively can provide renewable power for over 23,000 homes.
Harvest Wind qualified for a U.S. Treasury Department grant for a portion of its construction costs; these funds were made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The total project cost after the grant was $160 million.
PenLight meets its state obligation for renewable energy under Initiative 937 (I-937) with Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) generated from Harvest Wind. I-937 requires utilities with over 25,000 consumers to have an increasing portion of their power come from renewable energy: 3% (2012–2015), 9% (2016–2019), and 15% (2020 and beyond).
View Harvest Wind Video
Receive the benefits of clean, renewable wind energy for your home or business
Through our partnership with Bonneville Environmental Foundation’s Renewable Option Program, you can affordably purchase the environmental benefits of wind power generated throughout the Pacific Northwest. BEF’s Green-e Energy Certified Renewable Option Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) represent renewable energy sources from Pacific Northwest projects where clean zero-emission wind energy has been delivered to the North American power grid to replace fossil fuel based electricity.
Each block of Renewable Option RECs represents the environmental attributes of 100 kilowatt-hours of electricity generated from wind energy facilities throughout the Pacific Northwest.
You can purchase as many REC’s as you want by clicking the link below. BEF will charge you a modest fee for your Renewable Option REC purchase and will deliver you proof of purchase identifying your specific product supply by email. Your Peninsula Light account and monthly billing will NOT be affected by your purchase.
For more information or to purchase REC’s visit the BEF’s Renewable Option RECs for Residential or Business webpage
PenLight is required to submit a Resource Plan every 2 years to the state Department of Commerce (DOC). The plan forecasts PenLight’s loads for the next 5 and 10 years, and it also describes the resources it plans to use to serve those loads. Our 2022 Resource Plan (PDF) was submitted to the DOC in September.
