Decarbonizing Buildings, Transportation & Fuels
Seattle Climate Action on Building Standards and Transportation Electrification
Today, Seattle’s Mayor, Jenny Durkan, released an Executive Order, calling for significant climate action to reduce emissions from transportation and buildings. While we continue as a society to grapple with multiple and interlocking crises, tackling the climate crisis must remain paramount to protect the health and wellbeing of our communities. The NW Energy Coalition supports significant progress on energy efficiency in buildings and…
Complementary Bills Pave the Way for a Zero-Emissions Transportation Future
Washington has over 68,000 electric vehicles (EVs) on the road today, and with commitments from automakers, Washington signing on to a recent multi-state zero-emissions vehicle letter, and President Biden’s proposed infrastructure plan, that number will keep growing. To plan for this growth, two bills, SB 5192 and HB 1287, recently passed the Washington legislature and…
Accessible Public Charging – what you need to know
Washington residents are increasingly purchasing electric vehicles (EV), with over 63,000 EVs registered. But not everyone has access to affordable electric vehicle charging. Foundational standards that facilitate an accessible, reliable and standardized experience will protect consumers and ensure the widespread transition to electric vehicles. Today, when filling up your car with gasoline, you know how much you will pay, and with…
Regional electric system and demand management make the difference during California heatwave
Lower Snake River dams not critical – clean energy solutions will cover peak demand and protect salmon August is usually a time to take things easy, maybe go on vacation and enjoy our beautiful Northwest. But sometimes the weather just doesn’t cooperate. This year, that was the case in the middle of August, when a…
WA Climate Legislation Implementation
Following the passage of important climate legislation in the 2019 session of the Washington legislature, many rulemakings are now underway to implement the intent of that legislation. Rulemaking for most of these bills concluded in 2020, while others will extend into 2021 or further. The NW Energy Coalition was involved in many of these proceedings;…
30 days of the DOE Better Buildings webinar series
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Webinar Series takes on pressing topics facing energy professionals, with new experts leading the conversations on proven best practices, cost-effective strategies, and innovative new ways to approach sustainability and energy performance. The webinars are frequent, free, and informative. See the FAQs. SCHEDULED 2020 SUMMER WEBINARS: BEHIND-THE-METER DISTRIBUTED…
Coalition recommends clean energy stimulus spending
To help Americans and businesses cope with the economic impacts of the coronavirus crisis, the federal government is considering targeted investments into the US economy. In the immediate future, more funds need to be invested in bill assistance through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) to help utility customers with growing unpaid balances. In…
May 2020 Northwest Energy Update
May 2020 Northwest Energy Update NW Utilities’ COVID-19 Response The Coalition’s effort to persuade utilities to suspend service shut-offs during the coronavirus crisis has been quite successful, especially among the region’s largest utilities many of which are also increasing support for bill assistance and reconnecting those whose service may have been shut off before the…
Avista rate case offers wins for customers, climate, Colstrip
Last week the Washington Utilities & Transportation Commission (UTC) approved a partial multiparty settlement in the Avista rate case. It also decided issues outside of the settlement, including fast-tracking refunds to customers to minimize rate increases for natural gas customers and to eliminate them for electric customers in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. Avista’s…
Brown issues executive order following legislature’s failure to pass cap & trade
Oregon Governor Kate Brown has signed an Executive Order (EO) that seeks to reduce carbon emissions in the state after the proposed Cap and Invest bill, SB 1530, failed to pass due to the Republican legislator walk-out. The Executive Order sets greenhouse emission (GHG) goals at 45% below 1990 levels by 2035 and 80% below…