Cat Creek Energy is a renewable energy company that is building a unique renewable energy project combining wind, solar, and pumped hydro for storage in the future. The project will be built in phases, with the first phase completed in 2022 through interconnection with the Idaho Power grid.
The company's leaders have expressed excitement about the project and its potential to provide sustainable energy to the region.
"Our project with Cat Creek Energy is exciting because it catapults our energy goal target fulfillments while also supporting Idaho, a state that is important to us," said Ray Kerins, Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs at Bayer[1].
Cat Creek Energy has secured several Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) and Virtual Power Purchase Agreements (VPPAs) for the project including one with Bayer. The company has entered into a Renewable Energy Credit (REC) Purchase Agreement with Cat Creek Energy. The agreement will allow Bayer to purchase RECs from the project, which will help the company achieve its sustainability goals.
"We are committed to reducing our carbon footprint and are proud to partner with Cat Creek Energy to support the development of renewable energy in the United States," said Al Mitchell, President of Bayer's Pharmaceuticals Division in the Americas[1].
The Cat Creek Energy project is unique because it combines wind and solar power with pumped storage hydro. According to Hydro Review, the overall project features 720 MW of pumped storage, plus wind and solar resources. The pumped storage hydro project will provide 87,000 MWh of energy storage capacity[2].
"Imagine a system that captures Idaho's most precious resource, water, integrates it with wind and sunlight to deliver inexhaustible renewable energy that performs at the flick of a switch, constantly on-call," said Peggy Beltrone, Public Policy Advisor of Cat Creek Energy[3].
Zettawatts, a company specializing in Additionality Renewable Energy Certificates (ARECs), sees the Bayer deal as a roadmap for future deals supporting renewable energy projects. ARECs provide companies committed to reducing Scope 2 emissions the ability to directly decarbonize the grid by bringing new generation online.
Like the Bayer agreement, ARECs are procured in advance of the commercial operation of any Renewable Energy project, helping that project secure the appropriate financing by committing future revenue streams to the project’s Environmental attributes. Where the AREC Market differs is making deals like this one much simpler for both Buyers like Bayer and Suppliers like Cat Creek Energy. Bayer had to go through a complex process of evaluating multiple renewable energy projects, ending in a bilateral deal between two counterparties, a 1:1 Match. However, with the AREC Market, Customers set the price for what they are willing to spend on Additionality, and Zettawatts aggregates all that demand collectively. Meanwhile, Suppliers/Developers with upcoming Renewable Energy Projects benefit from consistently seeing the AREC Market Forecast of what Customers are willing to spend. Additionally, Suppliers/Developers within the AREC Marketplace benefit by not dealing with the credit requirements of each company in these bilateral deals.
The additionality of the RECs purchased by Bayer from Cat Creek Energy will help increase the speed at which the grid can change to renewable energy. It will also mitigate costs associated with continued renewable energy procurement using RECs without additionality. Furthermore, Cat Creek Energy is allowing Bayer to make a more impactful marketing claim for sustainability purposes.
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