CEO of Tri-State G&T speaks about supply chain problems affecting natural gas and other energy infrastructure
Supply chains are lengthening, said Duane Highley, chief executive of Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association.
A gas turbine order now might not be delivered until 2030 or 2031, he said.
“We’re going to need some gas in the mix to make it all happen even as we build massive amounts of renewables. So I’d say just move as fast as you can.”
A virtual gathering of utility executives, journalists and others on Jan. 15 was focused on resource adequacy. It was organized by the U.S. Energy Association.
Would the utilities favor an executive order by the new president ordering that remaining coal plants be kept in service?
No, said Highley. It’s a matter of cost.
“You can’t afford to continue to run a plant that’s built for base loads when it’s running in more of a peaking mode. So, in some instances, we would still seek a plant retirement. We wouldn’t really welcome an executive order saying you can’t retire it if it is an economic issue for our members.”
Highley also mentioned the coming cold weather in Colorado and other states where its member cooperatives are located. During Winter Storm Uri during four mostly windless days in February 2021, Tri-State resorted to burning oil.
Tri-State will be at 50% renewables by the end of 2025, he said, and 89% decarbonization in its Colorado operations by 2030.
“As we rely more and more on intermittent resources, we have to make sure that we’re not counting on them during extreme weather. So we have to make sure we keep other dispatchable resources in the mix,” he said.
“We’re politically agnostic. No, wind and solar aren’t Democrat or Republican, and fossil fuels aren’t Republican or Democrat. It’s all about reliability and affordability.”
Highley also mentioned the need for demand response.
“While we’re building the steel on the ground as fast as we can and securitizing that, making sure we have reliable generation is a big part of the answer and is also making sure that we’ve exhausted our opportunities for demand response,” he said.
“There’s a lot of opportunity to create a virtual power plant, working with our customers, those that have controllable loads, and aggregating those, taking them to markets on an aggregate basis, and using that to mitigate not only high prices, but also to provide critical capacity at peak times.”
Photo: Xcel Energy’s 685-megawatt Rocky Mountain Energy Center near Keenseburg, Colo., Photo/Allen Best
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