Sep 23 2010
The Idaho Public Utilities Commission has offered its approval for the accord reached between Grand View Solar PV One, a California based company and Idaho Power to offer supplemental power to the utility. The PUC started assessing the accord on 1st July 2010 under the conditions of the federal Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA) and closed its evaluation this week.
The PURPA has made it mandatory for the power utility companies such as Idaho Power to bid their offer to purchase power manufactured by small sized power producers. The order of the Utilities Commission now will qualify Grand View Solar PV to sign a 20 year accord with Idaho Power from 1st January 2011 and start the construction of its 180 acre solar farm taken on rent from J.R. Simplot Co. The proposed solar farm locates in a place that lies 16 miles west of Air Force Base in Mountain Home. Robert Paul, who owns the company, said that the approval took more time than anticipated and he wanted to construct the project to avail the various incentives available presently. He added that the financing for the project was deferred to the last quarter of the year, thus making it prudent to start the construction from the beginning of next year.
Donovan Walker, a representative of Idaho Power, said that his company has purchased solar power from small home projects and this is the first time a contract is signed with a large scale power provider. He added that the project will produce around 20 MW power and Idaho Power will pay PURPA power rates only for an average of 10 MW monthly. He concluded that the produced power will be utilized to provide electricity to 4,000 homes every month.