Posts by Alicia Healey
Legislature passes landmark legislation to transition Washington off polluting coal-fired power
Today, the Washington State Legislature put its final stamp of approval on a plan to responsibly transition TransAlta Corp.’s Centralia, Wash., power plant off of coal. The state Senate approved technical changes made in the House and sent the Coal-Free Future for Washington bill to Gov. Chris Gregoire for her much-anticipated signature.
Read MoreThree from Montana honored for clean energy commitment
NW Energy Coalition executive director Sara Patton recently presented resolutions honoring Montanans Greg Jergeson (right) and Ken Toole (center) and NorthWestern Energy (President/CEO Bob Rowe, left) for their leadership in building a clean and affordable energy future.
Read MoreNW Energy Coalition and Save Our Wild Salmon Comments on the Draft Business Practice, Environmental Redispatch, Version 1
nwec-and-sos-overgeneration-bp-april-1.pdf
Read MoreSpill Announcement for Columbia and Snake Rivers Helps Salmon, Jobs
West coast fishermen and fishing businesses today thank the Nez Perce Tribe and the State of Oregon for successfully advocating to retain court-ordered levels of water spilled over federal dams in the Columbia and Snake Rivers during the 2011 spring salmon migration. This spill has been a key reason for recent improvements in salmon returns, although numbers are still far below levels needed to sustain healthy salmon populations.
Read MoreWhat we can learn from Japan's nuclear disaster
Amory Lovins, Chairman and Chief Scientist of Rocky Mountain Institute, highlights why efficiency and renewables such as wind and solar will better meet the world’s energy needs than nuclear power.
Read MoreState-by-state highlights from NW Energy Coalition Executive Board meeting on March 17, 2011
Enviros and Labor stand together to move Washington beyond coal
On March 5th, Organized Labor and major environmental organizations in Washington reached an historic agreement with the TransAlta Corporation and Gov. Chris Gregoire to phase out coal-fired power generation in Washington. The agreement reflects all parties’ shared vision of a Washington powered by clean energy and will provide a model for the nation of how investing in transition to a clean-energy future can create good jobs and a healthy economy.
Read the full Op-Ed online at Publicola.com
Read MoreWash. Senate OKs bill to close coal plant
The state Senate on Saturday approved a bill that would eventually shut down Washington’s only coal-fired power plant, a move that could help the state meet climate change goals set in 2008.
The measure, Senate Bill 5769, was part of a deal negotiated among plant owner TransAlta, state officials and environmental groups (including the NW Energy Coalition and several member organizations). It would shut down one of the plant’s two boilers by 2020 and phase out coal-burning by 2025.
Read the full Associated Press article online at The Olympian.
Read MoreWind power on BPA system sets new record
Wind turbines in the Bonneville Power Administration’s transmission grid generated over 3,000 megawatts for the first time yesterday, producing enough electricity to serve a city three times the size of Seattle for an hour…
Read MoreThe Columbian: Closing TransAlta
From this Sunday’s Columbian – “Coal-fired plant is not in our state’s future, and Senate bill offers best compromise”
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