Posts by Alicia Healey
Seattle City Light's new video contest targets "Energy Vampires"
Halloween is just around the corner and Seattle City Light is holding a “Slay Your Energy Vampires” video contest to celebrate…
Read MoreIsolated green buildings won't save the planet
From CNN: Architect Joshua Prince Ramus talks about how new buildings should be energy efficient but that alone won’t save environment.
Read the full opinion piece here.
Read MoreUS energy use is dropping and shifting to renewables
A new report shows that the US energy economy has shifted away from coal over the last year at a pace faster than the declining economy would predict.
Read MoreThe Transformer – August 18, 2010
How green is my electron? Overcoming the smart grid’s color blindness
Energy journals and, increasingly, the popular media now teem with updates and predictions on developing “smart grid” technologies … how they will help smooth power demand, greatly improve efficiency and outage/service response, and reward consumers with lower bills.
This issue of The Transformer tackles the question of why the smart grid isn’t necessarily a green grid and, in fact, could actually foster greater demand for power from coal-fueled or nuclear baseload plants. It also presents one proposed means of dealing with the problem: buying green electrons…
Read MoreEditorial: Columbia River salmon: The fishermen's plan is starting to work
Bob Rees of the Northwest Guides and Anglers Association has an editorial in The Oregonian today on how changes to the dam system recommended by scientists and fishermen are bringing back wild salmon. But we still have farther to go.
Read MoreReal-time NW wind display courtesy of BPA
The public can now view a new online display of wind and other data the Bonneville Power Administration uses to monitor weather conditions that drive the growing amount of wind energy generated in the Northwest.
Read MorePortland getting solarized
Several companies have been working with the Energy Trust of Oregon and the city of Portland to solarize the city. The project goes from neighborhood to neighborhood, with hundreds of customers signing for installation of photovoltaic cells. So Portland is experiencing a huge penetration of solar power at very reasonable costs thanks to economies of scale…
Read MoreAvista reaches settlement with stakeholders in latest rate case
Spokane-based Avista Corp., which provides electric and natural gas service to much of northern Idaho, has joined the staff of the Idaho Public Utilities Commission (PUC) in asking the Commission to approve a rate case settlement agreement that could mean higher rates – though not as high as the utility first sought.
Read MoreMore woes for MSTI transmission line
NorthWestern Energy’s application to construct the Mountain States Transmission Intertie has encountered another in a long line of difficulties.
Read MoreCommissioner Ken Toole Keynote Address
Commissioner Ken Toole of the Montana Public Service Commission gives the Keynote Address at the 2010 Spring conference in Missoula, MT.
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