Energy Efficiency
Water heaters: a potent weapon in the fight against climate change
We may have, hiding in our basements and garages , a clean energy resource that has the power to erase the need for new gas-fired power plants in the Northwest. That’s one implication of a new report on grid-integrated water heaters (GIWH) from the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and its partners, the Northwest Energy Efficiency…
Read MoreFall 2018 Clean & Affordable Energy Conference Digest
On November 15, the NW Energy Coalition hosted its fall Clean & Affordable Energy Conference. The conference attracted over 180 attendees who participated in panel discussions and presentations on utility decarbonization, the role new storage technologies will play in transitioning the Northwest electric system, the health, comfort, and productivity benefits that energy efficient buildings provide…
Read MoreWorkers, business leaders talk about the benefits of WA clean energy standards
As Washington and other states in the Northwest consider how best to go about making our electric system as clean and affordable as possible, it’s good to remember that in doing so, we will also be contributing to economic growth and jobs. In Washington alone, more than 80,000 people have jobs in energy efficiency and…
Read MoreLow costs and lots of jobs: The economic impact of I-937
FACT VS. INFERENCE: THE TRUTH ABOUT THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF WASHINGTON’S CLEAN ELECTRICITY STANDARD An analysis released in 2013 by the Washington Policy Center (WPC) and the Beacon Hill Institute (BHI), claimed that by the year 2020, Initiative 937, the Energy Independence Act, passed by voters in 2006, would cost Washington electricity customers more than…
Read MoreThank you for fighting the good fight
What an effort! Yesterday’s election culminated an immense effort by thousands of people throughout the Northwest to effectively address issues of clean energy, climate change, equity, and affordability. Those efforts met with success in Portland with passage of the Portland Clean Energy Initiative and they did not in Washington where Initiative 1631 was defeated. Win…
Read More
Bruce Nilles to keynoteClean & Affordable Energy Conference Beyond Coal Campaign founder to discuss expanded areas of activism in new role at Rocky Mountain Institute SEATTLE, Washington — Bruce Nilles is relentless. Fifteen years ago he founded the Sierra Club’s highly successful Beyond Coal Campaign, which has helped retire a quarter of the nation’s coal fired…
Read MoreI-1631: The people did it before and we’ll do it again!
I-1631, the clean air and clean energy measure, is critical for addressing climate change. Yet, a lot of loud voices are claiming the proposed carbon fee on fossil fuel polluters won’t do have much effect and costs will be passed through to customers. But, if they believe that, then why are the polluters — big…
Read MoreOctober 5 is Energy Efficiency Day! Here’s why it matters.
Why is there an Energy Efficiency Day? Because all of us, especially policymakers, need to be reminded that, as we pursue economic growth and jobs, reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, a transition to a clean electric system, and affordable energy now and in the future, energy efficiency is doing the heavy lifting. We hear about…
Read MoreEnergy jobs are mostly in energy efficiency
E4The Future and Environmental Entrepreneurs have issued a new analysis that expands on a recent clean energy jobs report by drilling down on the role that energy efficiency jobs play in every state’s economy. Last May, the Energy Futures Initiative and the National Association of State Energy Officials published the 2018 U.S. Energy and Employment Report and…
Read MoreNo time to retreat on energy efficiency: Part 2
Last week, part 1 of this post focused on the Northwest’s impending shortfall in meeting 7th Power Plan goals for energy efficiency as well as plans by Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) to cut funding for energy efficiency efforts by 10% in 2020 and 2021. That news comes against the backdrop of efforts by the Trump…
Read More