Idaho number one for renewable power in the West

The Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) released its Western States Renewable Power Ranking this month, revealing that Idaho was ranked number one for its baseload and intermittent renewable power infrastructure and resources.

“When you consider both baseload and intermittent renewable power, Idaho is a leader,” GEA Executive Director Karl Gawell said. “As the Western states moves toward a low-carbon future, the role and outlook for all renewable power technologies needs to be examined. Finding the right mix of technologies is an important question for decision-makers to explore if the Western states are going to find the least-cost, minimum impact path to a low carbon future.”

The ranking was released in support and promotion of the first Baseload Renewable Energy Summit, to be held in Reno, Nevada in June. The GEA, the National Hydropower Association, and the Biomass Power Association will host the event to explore how baseload renewable technologies can contribute to cleaner energy adoption in the future.

In a recent GEA publication, “Baseload Renewables: The Important Facts,” the organization looked at the role of baseload resources in balancing intermittent renewables by replacing coal generation megawatt for megawatt. The organization said that baseload resources can be important in the development of more clean energy solutions, as they do not require new purchases and the rebalancing of power sources or storage.