December Club Meeting

OPPD: Pathways to Decarbonization

Presented by: Lisa Olson, OPPD VP of Public Affairs

Mary Fisher, OPPD VP of Energy Production & Nuclear Decommissioning

OPPD is in the early phase of an 18-24 month Pathways to Decarbonization study. In October 2019, OPPD’s President and CEO, Tim Burke shared the need for OPPD to add accredited generation capacity to meet legal and regulatory obligations to serve OPPD customers. A number of factors require that OPPD maintain system reliability and resiliency. OPPD will issue Request for Proposals (RFP) to identify a combination of technologies that optimize three objectives: affordability, reliability/resiliency, and environmental sensitivity. New utility-scale solar, modernized replacement and back-up natural gas assets and voltage-support devices will be considered. Building the largest solar power presence in the region and adding new natural gas assets will serve an important role in allowing OPPD to further integrate renewable energy, and achieve a 30% reduction in CO₂ emissions compared to 2010 levels. This is just the first step of many in OPPD’s pathway to decarbonization.