Press Releases
10/31/2019
Klamath Cogen continues history of environmental stewardship with latest contribution to The Climate Trust
Klamath Cogen continues history of environmental stewardship with latest contribution to The Climate Trust
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August 25, 2008
This week Iberdrola Renewables sent another payment to The Climate Trust, this one in the amount of $3.1 million, for Klamath Cogeneration Plant CO2 mitigation.
"The Klamath Cogeneration Plant has been, and continues to be, a pioneer in the use of carbon offsets as a mitigation tool for new power plants," said Mike Burnett, Executive Director of The Climate Trust. "The Climate Trust receives funds from new power plants regulated by the Oregon Carbon Dioxide Standard and invests in high quality projects that reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide levels." In addition to providing funding to The Climate Trust, the plant has sponsored tree planting in Oregon, methane recovery at coal mines in Ohio, geothermal expansion in Klamath Falls, and solar electrification in Sri Lanka to offset part of its emissions.
Iberdrola Renewables, formerly PPM Energy, worked closely with the City of Klamath Falls to develop the award-winning 506 MW Klamath Cogeneration Plant. When commissioned in 2001, Klamath became the cleanest fossil-fueled power plant ever constructed in the US in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. It was a model for Oregon legislation that now governs the carbon dioxide emissions of new fossil-fuel power plants built in the state.
The plant won Power Magazine's Power Plant of the Year 2001 award when it came online and won Oregon Governor Kitzhaber's 2000 Community and Economic Development award. This year, the plant won "Best of the Best" honors for operations and maintenance at the Combined Cycle Journal's 2008 Best Practices Awards. Klamath Cogeneration won awards in two other categories -- Safety and Environmental Stewardship.
In addition to greenhouse gas mitigation, Klamath uses up to 3 million gallons per day of treated municipal wastewater provided by the City to meet 100% of its cooling needs, helping the City reduce its discharges into the Klamath River by about 2.3 million gallons per day.
The cogeneration process itself is environmentally responsible. The Klamath plant creates two useful forms of energy-electricity and process steam-from a single fuel source.
The Klamath plant staff has maintained a zero-lost-time accident rate since 2000 when the first employee was hired. In addition, the company has earned consecutive Oregon OSHA SHARP Awards. This recognition by OSHA distinguishes the safety culture and track record at Klamath as essentially 'best in class.'
About Iberdrola Renewables:
Oregon Workforce (as of July 31, 2008)
Iberdrola Renewables
Portland: 340 (includes 26 contractors)
Klamath Falls: 24
Wasco: 18
Arlington: 4
Iberdrola Renewables HOLDINGS, Inc.
Portland: 13 (includes 4 contractors) and 13 Group employees
Contacts:
Art Sasse, Director, Communications & Brand, Iberdrola Renewables, 503-796-7740
Paul Copleman, Media Relations, Iberdrola Renewables, 207-641-2805
Amy Phillips, The Climate Trust, (503) 238-1915, ext. 211
About Avangrid: Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE: AGR) aspires to be the leading sustainable energy company in the United States. Headquartered in Orange, CT with approximately $44 billion in assets and operations in 24 U.S. states, Avangrid has two primary lines of business: networks and renewables. Through its networks business, Avangrid owns and operates eight electric and natural gas utilities, serving more than 3.3 million customers in New York and New England. Through its renewables business, Avangrid owns and operates a portfolio of renewable energy generation facilities across the United States. Avangrid employs approximately 8,000 people and has been recognized by JUST Capital in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 as one of the JUST 100 companies – a ranking of America’s best corporate citizens. In 2024, Avangrid ranked first among utilities and 12 overall. The company supports the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals and was named among the World’s Most Ethical Companies in 2024 for the sixth consecutive year by the Ethisphere Institute. Avangrid is a member of the group of companies controlled by Iberdrola, S.A. For more information, visit www.avangrid.com.
About Iberdrola: Iberdrola is one of the world's biggest energy companies and a leader in renewables, spearheading the energy transition to a low carbon economy. The group supplies energy to almost 100 million people in dozens of countries. With a focus on renewable energy, smart networks and smart solutions for customers, Iberdrola’s main markets include Europe (Spain, the United Kingdom, Portugal, France, Germany, Italy and Greece), the United States, Brazil, Mexico and Australia. The company is also present in growth markets such as Japan, Taiwan, Ireland, Sweden and Poland, among others.
With a workforce of nearly 40,000 and assets in excess of €141.7 billion, across the world, Iberdrola helps to support 400,000 jobs across its supply chain, with annual procurement of €12.2 billion. A benchmark in the fight against climate change, Iberdrola has invested more than €130 billion over the past two decades to help build a sustainable energy model, based on sound environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles.
