Even as Public Service Company officials defended their plan for expanded electric power production in the state before state regulators this week, they faced pressure to supply power to the controversial $4 billion aluminum smelter proposed in Inola. Their plan carries an estimated cost of $1.2 billion to $3.2 billion.
Oklahoma manufacturing executive Ryan Plotkin, who helped in last year’s announcement of state incentives to attract Emirates Global Aluminium to the state, wrote this week, “finalizing the power agreement is the next critical step.”
It’s what he offered in a Tulsa World opinion piece this week. “Oklahoma was chosen because of our resources and reliability. Now we must follow through.”
The power agreement would be with PSO which went before Corporation Commissioners last year with a warning it was facing increased demands from large load customers. At the time, a company representative did not identify a major customer who would seek large amounts of electrical power from the utility that has an estimated 562,000 customers in eastern and southwest Oklahoma. But it apparently turned out to be Emirates Global Aluminium. The project, named Oklahoma Primary Aluminum, is expected to double U.S. primary aluminum production and make Oklahoma a national center of aluminum-related manufacturing.
Negotiations are reported underway between Oklahoma Primary Aluminum, the name of the project, and PSO, reported Canary Media.
The smelter, if constructed, would be the first aluminum smelter to be built in the U.S. in 50 years. The developer has already received a $500 million grant from the U.S. Energy Department along with hundreds of millions of dollars in incentives from the state of Oklahoma.
“Negotiations are ongoing and remain aligned with our original timeline,” Ziad Fares, project director for Oklahoma Primary Aluminum, told Canary Media.
“The project will source power from the grid, and its energy mix will evolve based on decarbonization goals, market conditions, and demand for low-carbon aluminum,” he said, adding that decisions about expanding electricity capacity to meet the smelter’s demand — whether through gas, wind, or solar — will be made by the utility.
PSO is awaiting a decision from the Oklahoma Corporation Commission following a lengthy hearing this week at which the utility encouraged approval of its energy expansion plan.