As part of its multi-sourced, multi-year integrated resource plan (IRP) approved by state regulators three years ago, (PGE) said Monday it has signed deals to develop a 440 MW natural gas-fired electric generation plant in Oregon, along with new wind power and electric transmission.

The announcement by PGE was part of the completion of a request for proposals (RFP) process to address the future resource needs as outlined in its IRP (see Daily GPI, Oct. 29, 2010).

Projected to cost between $440 and $455 million, the gas-fired baseload combined-cycle generation plant would be built near PGE’s existing Boardman coal-fired generation plant, which is slated for retirement later this decade. The gas-fired generation plant will be built by Spain’s Abengoa SA, which specializes in complex turnkey projects for thermal generation. Mitsubishi Power Systems Americas Inc. will provide G-class turbines for the power plant.

“Abengoa submitted the best performing bid to meet customer needs for a baseload resource using a new bidding option encouraged by the Oregon Public Utility Commission to give independent developers access to sites already controlled by PGE,” the utility said.

PGE said it received 18 bids in response to its RFP for eight distinct power projects. PGE eventually will own and operate the gas-fired facility when it is scheduled to start operations in 2016.

The other deals completed include an agreement for PGE to acquire the development rights for phase two of the Lower Snake River wind farm, a 267 MW project under development near Dayton, WA, by a unit of Puget Sound Energy. RES Americas Construction Inc. will develop the second phase wind farm for PGE. The other deal is an agreement under which PGE eventually could get up to 1,500 MW of transmission capacity from the Bonneville Power Administration.

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