The City of McPherson board of public utilities in Kansas has issued a request for renewable energy projects up to 20MW and wants to hear from providers about any type or amount of projects.
The BPU said it understands that the ecological footprint was important to its customers and is one of the main drivers behind its push to increase renewables.
BPU account manager, Kasi Morales said: “We know that a stronger emphasis has been placed on performance metrics measuring energy efficiency and sustainability practices for many of our large industrial customers. They are expected not only to meet environmental standards, but to exceed them.
A further reason for the initiative is the city’s clean power plan which aims to reduce CO2 emissions. Out of all the energy the BPU buys coal, a high CO2 emitting source, represents 85% of the total.
Currently there is no commercially viable method to remove CO2, unlike SO2 and NOx emissions, which between 2005 and 2012 saw reductions of 85% and 66% respectively.
BPU said proposals must also be competitive and maintain its stable rate structure, with electricity amongst the cheapest in the country at an industrial average of just 5.1 cents per kWh in 2015.
Proposals are due to McPherson BPU by December 15, 2015 for evaluation.
BPU manager Mark Wurm said: “Right now prices for renewables are competitive especially when the production tax credits that are currently available are figured in. BPU is looking at renewable options either offsite or even onsite, if cost is favourable.”
Image: (Energy Kansas)
