Wind Power Adds To Negative Power Prices In US Northwest

摘要

The Pacific Northwest is providing US power generators and politicians alike with a graphic illustration of what can happen when wind power is developed ahead of adequate transmission capacity to cope with it. For nearly a month now, and perhaps a few more weeks to come, prolific snowmelt in the Pacific Northwest — home to five massive hydropower systems known collectively as the Mid-Columbia and, more recently, to extensive new wind capacity — has left the region's electricity prices often at zero, or even below in off-peak hours.