Idaho Power Scaling Back Plans at Shoshone Falls Facility

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho Power is scaling back its plan to boost hydroelectric capacity at its power-generating facility at Shoshone Falls in south-central Idaho. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in a notice on Tuesday says Idaho Power is seeking to amend its plan and reduce capacity from 50 megawatts to 3.2 megawatts. The commission in 2010 approved the company's request to add a 50-megawatt generating plant at its Shoshone Falls Hydroelectric Project on the Snake River that currently has a capacity of about 11 megawatts. But the company says changes in the energy landscape, lack of high year-round flows at the Shoshone facility and a shift toward solar and wind power makes boosting the hydroelectric project's capacity less feasible. The commission is taking public comments on Idaho Power's request through mid-January.