Fall River Rural Electric Cooperative announced a partnership Monday with Oregon-based Pacific Northwest Generating Cooperative Power for a new power project being developed in northern Idaho to help maintain reliable, affordable electricity for homes, businesses, farms and communities across eastern Idaho and southwestern Montana.
The new plant is expected to be among the most efficient and lowest-emitting natural gas-fired power plants in the region. By using advanced technology, it is expected to generate more electricity with less fuel than older plants, helping provide the reliable power Northwest communities need while keeping costs as affordable as possible for cooperative owner-members.
The selected technology also offers a pathway to hydrogen blending over time, including the potential for up to a 50 percent hydrogen blend as the technology, fuel supply and supporting infrastructure evolve.
For Fall River Electric, the project is part of the co-op’s strategic direction identified more than three years ago to meet the future needs of both owner-members and the communities it serves.
“The hydropower capacity of the Northwest has been fully allocated so there is not plenty of hydropower left to meet growing electricity demand,” said Bryan Case, CEO/general manager of Fall River Electric. “Our members need power they can count on at prices they can afford. Supporting this project is part of planning ahead to help keep electricity reliable, affordable and available when it is needed most.”
PNGC Power and Fall River Electric are working to strengthen the region’s electric system and build a more resilient energy future. For local communities, this project is about more than power generation. It is about learning from past storms and extreme weather events and making sure the Northwest has the resources needed to respond when conditions are most difficult.
“This project reflects the responsibility we have to plan ahead for the long term,” said Jessica Matlock, CEO of PNGC Power. “Our member cooperatives serve families, farms, businesses and small towns across the Northwest. This project is part of helping ensure those communities continue to have reliable and affordable electricity in the years ahead.”
PNGC Power is an electric generation and transmission cooperative owned by 25 Northwest electric distribution cooperative utilities with service territory in seven western states: Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
Fall River is a customer-owned, nonprofit electric utility providing more than 21,000 connections to more than 16,000 owner-members in portions of Idaho, southwest Montana and western Wyoming. For more information visit, www.fallriverelectric.com.