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PUC keeps storage bid under review, approves wind bid and rejects one solar-plus-storage project in NTP portfolio
Summary
After hearing Public Service's supplemental modeling, advisers recommended retaining a 400 MW storage bid, adding contingency, approving a 608 MW wind bid (Bid 127) and rejecting a 450 MW solar-plus-storage (Bid 94) due to price and modeling concerns; commissioners asked for more analysis on curtailment, transmission and lost PTCs before finalizing portfolio changes.
Advisers and commissioners spent much of the April 15 hearing on near-term procurement (NTP) resource selection, debating whether to keep a 400-megawatt storage bid (Bid 118) in the approved NTP portfolio, whether to add back a 608-megawatt wind project (Bid 127), and whether to include a 450-megawatt solar-plus-storage project (Bid 94).
Michael Eden, representing the advisory team, explained that Public Service's supplemental compliance filings raised transmission and interconnection concerns about Bid 118 because the proposed interconnection would flow through the Hayden substation and could require new transmission rights and system-impact studies. Eden's recommendation was to retain Bid 118 in the approved portfolio but also approve additional contingency storage projects so the portfolio would remain serviceable if Bid 118 ultimately failed.
On Bid 127, the advisers concluded the company's supplemental modeling supported adding the 608 MW wind project to the approved portfolio; several commissioners said they were inclined to approve 127 but asked for additional detail on curtailment and how lost production tax credits (PTCs) are handled in the business-case analyses. Commissioner questions focused on whether the company had evaluated long-run curtailment (through 2040) and the transmission constraints into Denver Metro that might affect deliverability.
Advisers recommended rejecting Bid 94 after the company disclosed a modeling error and revised the price upward; commissioners agreed Bid 94 was not competitive after the revision.
Commissioners did not adopt all advisory suggestions immediately and asked Public Service for additional spreadsheet-level detail on curtailment, allocation of curtailment between wind and solar over time-of-day and season, and assumptions on natural gas prices. Chair Eric Blank said he wanted the company to file either the requested narrative and spreadsheets within roughly a week or provide a filing by April 20 estimating when it could provide the information so the commission could aim for a decision by its April 29 meeting.
Why it matters: The NTP portfolio decisions direct the state's near-term mix of large-scale renewables and storage and shape how much capacity and shaping resources utilities procure during the tax-credit window and while transmission constraints persist.
Next steps: The commission directed the company to submit the requested modeling clarifications and spreadsheets on curtailment and PTC treatment and indicated it might issue a TBC (tentative/briefing/circulation) order to finalize NTP portfolio adjustments.
