Closing a coal plant is a big deal. Closing a large, modern coal plant like the one at Boardman is areally big deal. It hasn’t happened before in the Northwest — or arguably anywhere else in the United States. But today Oregon is close to an agreement to end coal burning at Boardman by no […]
Washington State is closely watching a battle in the Idaho Supreme Court over whether to allow massive oil exploration equipment to be trucked across scenic roadways of Northern Idaho and Montana to the tar sands of Alberta, Canada.
A campaign by clean energy groups (including the NW Energy Coalition) to shut down the Centralia coal-fired power plant by 2015 staged five events statewide Tuesday…
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…
The Daily Journal of Commerce Oregon talks about the eventual shutdown of the Boardman coal-fired power plant and what might replace the power it generates. You can read the article here.
The NW Energy Coalition (NWEC or “Coalition”) appreciates this opportunity to
comment on Portland General’s Integrated Resource Plan, as amended (IRP or “Plan”). Although PGE’s Plan encompasses a great number of issues, we will focus in these comments on two central questions: (1) a request to acknowledge a preferred Action Plan that includes the 2020 shutdown of Boardman; and, (2) a related request to approve an “alternative Action Plan” if the Company is unable to resolve several difficult regulatory contingencies by March 31, 2011, making the preferred plan, in PGE’s determination, impossible to complete.
Here’s some recent energy updates from Montana, submitted by NW Energy Coalition Montana caucus chair Chuck Magraw…
Clean energy activists from across Washington state braved wind, rain and soggy footing to bring the coal-free message to the State Capitol in Olympia on Saturday, Feb. 27. Learn more about the event and see photos inside.
More and more utilities are rushing to substitute gas-fired combustion turbines for coal in their resource plans while rapidly expanding their use of renewables and efficiency. But are the assumptions behind this change correct? The new rush to gas is raising serious questions about domestic and international supply, price and price volatility, and lifecycle carbon emissions. This edition of The Transformer addresses those questions and considers the controversy surrounding liquefied natural gas.
Official NW Energy Coalition comments on a proposed air-quality agreement between Washington state and Centralia, Wash., coal plant owner TransAlta reflect a significant weakening of mercury emissions requirements from those adopted in 11 other states and previously considered by Washington state officials.
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