Idaho and renewable energy resources

Summary: Idaho relies on utilities for most of its power needs and benefits from the use of renewable energy resources, such as hydroelectric, geothermal, and wind power.

Public and municipal utilities and rural electric cooperatives meet most of Idaho’s energy needs. Idaho makes use of renewable energy sources such as hydro, geothermal, wind, solar, and biomass energy. The state’s largest utility, Idaho Power, derives most of its electricity from hydroelectric power plants. The state government has implemented a variety of programs and services promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy, including sales tax rebates, income tax deductions, and loans. Utilities and private companies also offer grants, consumer education programs, and incentives.

Idaho Power, headquartered in Boise, is the largest power company in the state. It was formed in 1916 through the combination of Idaho-Oregon Light and Power, Idaho Railway Light and Power, Idaho Power and Light, Great Shoshone and Twin Falls Water Power, and Southern Idaho Water Power. Idaho Power is one of only a handful of investor-owned utilities in the United States that generates the bulk of its energy from hydroelectric power plants, which operate at lower costs than those running on fossil fuels.

Idaho Power owns and operates 17 hydroelectric power plants along the Snake River and its tributaries, most of which were built in the mid-20th century. The largest plants form the Hells Canyon Complex. The company owns and operates two natural gas-fired plants and is building a third utilizing both natural gas and steam. They either own or share ownership in one diesel-powered and three coal-fired power plants operated by other companies. Electricity is transmitted over long distances at high voltages over 4,800 miles of transmission lines.

The Idaho Consumer-Owned Utilities Association (ICUA) comprises 21 rural electric cooperatives and municipal utilities throughout the state, one of the few such organizations to represent both. The association was chartered with the Idaho Secretary of State in 1948 with a membership limited to rural electric cooperatives, but it expanded to include municipal utilities in 1996. Its members meet approximately 16 percent of Idaho’s consumer electricity demands, with approximately 95 percent of that coming from the Bonneville Power Administration.

Idaho has implemented a number of programs and services promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy as an economic and environmental measure. The Department of Energy has overseen the Idaho National Laboratory at Idaho Falls since 1949, providing a research and development facility for environmental technologies. The Office of Energy Resources manages the Energy Efficiency Program, which provides the information necessary for Idaho residents and businesses to work together to practice energy efficiency and sustainability and adopt renewable energy and other green technologies. The state partnered with the sizable agricultural industry in an energy efficiency program that also promotes alternative energy resource utilization.

In 2005, state legislation initiatives introduced a variety of measures designed to promote sustainability. These included the establishment of a bond funding independent renewable energy projects, a sales tax rebate for solar power and other renewable energy generation technology capable of generating 25 kilowatts of power, and a state tax deduction equaling 40 percent of the purchase price of a solar electricity system. The state also maintains low-interest energy loan programs and the Idaho Solar Electric System Site Assessment rebate program.

Private corporations and university research facilities are exploring and implementing a variety of green technologies. Private businesses also provide consumers with the design, installation, and maintenance of renewable energy technologies such as solar panels. Idaho Community Action offers energy efficiency programs such as weatherization assistance. Private grant and assistance programs for renewable energy in Idaho include grants from the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, such as its Renewable Energy Grant and Solar 4R Schools, and the Northwest Solar Cooperative’s Green Tag purchase incentives.

Public and municipal utilities promote energy efficiency and invest in renewable energy to reduce operating costs and consumer prices. Idaho Power, Avista Utilities, and Rocky Mountain Power offer net metering to residential and small business customers, who receive a retail rate credit toward their next bill for generating up to 25 kilowatts of power. Idaho Power has maintained hydroelectric power plants since the mid-20th century and supplies the majority of its electricity through hydropower. The company is in the planning and construction phases for other renewable energy projects in the fields of wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass energy.

Wind energy projects have not been without opposition, including a petition filed with the Idaho Public Utilities Commission by utilities such as Idaho Power, Avista Utilities, and PacifiCorp. The utilities are required to purchase extra electricity needed to meet demand from small producers at rates based on equivalent production at a new power plant under the 1978 national Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA). The utilities argue that the current legislation fails to take into consideration that most wind projects are large-scale wind farms run by large corporations rather than small local producers.

Idaho’s geothermal springs have provided a source of natural energy for use in electricity generation, space heating, agriculture, and aquaculture since the establishment of a district heating system in Boise in 1892. Windmills have been utilized to fuel water pumps for decades, while wind turbines and energy converters are appearing in ever-greater numbers. Biomass energy production in Idaho uses organic matter and methane gas by-products from municipal solid waste landfills and wastewater treatment plants. Wind developers and dairy farmers produce and sell energy generated from biomass in the form of municipal waste.

In 2023, 68 percent of Idaho’s electricity generation came from renewable energy resources, including hydropower, which supplied about 54 percent, and wind energy, which supplied about 16 percent.

Bibliography

“Idaho.” US Energy Information Administration. 2024, www.eia.gov/state/state-energy-profiles.cfm?sid=ID. Accessed 5 Aug. 2024.

“Idaho's Energy Industry.” Idaho Commerce, 2024, commerce.idaho.gov/energy. Accessed 5 Aug. 2024.

“Our Energy Sources.” Idaho Power, 2024, www.idahopower.com/AboutUs/CompanyInformation/Facts/energySources.cfm. Accessed 5 Aug. 2024.