Prineville invests in renewable energy as more cos. eye city

An energy crunch in Prineville might divert a manufacturing company to another city as leaders try to figure out a short-term solution.

Mayor Betty Roppe told NewsChannel 21 officials from the city and Crook County met last Wednesday with Bonneville Power administration, Pacific Power, Facebook and Apple representatives to try to figure out a solution.

“In 2012, when we had a similar situation when some of our other companies were coming in, we had been told by Bonneville Power we had access to 400 megawatts,” Roppe said Monday.

The power company told the city they didn’t have the transmission capacity to meet future industrial demand, she said.

“We’re not out of the running for this company, but it has certainly dampened their enthusiasm — and that’s not acceptable to us,” Roppe said.

The mayor said the city is waiting for a response from the power companies, expected some time this week.

Prineville Community Development Planning Director Phil Stenbeck said both the county and the city are investing in their energy infrastructure, from solar to hydro.

One idea, in the works for some time, is to create a hydroelectric power plant at Bowman Dam.

“We’re currently looking at a 2.5-megawatt generator that would produce about enough power to serve 1,400 homes,” City Engineer Eric Klann said.