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BPA EE Overspend NWEC Comments
The following are NWEC’s comments in response to the BPA draft proposal “Proposed Approach for EEI Budget Adjustments and Scenario Results Due to Energy Efficiency FY2011 Capital Overspend.”
BPA EE Overspend NWEC Comments
Read MoreColumbia River salmon plans: The judge is not amused
The Seattle Times Editorial page weighs in on Judge Redden’s ruling. U.S. District Court Judge James Redden issued a 24-page ruling Tuesday that slapped down another federal plan for operating the economic interests of the Columbia and Snake rivers, while working to save endangered fish.
Read MoreFederal Judge Rules for Columbia and Snake River Salmon
U.S. District Court Judge James Redden ruled today that the NOAA Fisheries Service again failed to produce a legal and scientific plan to protect imperiled Columbia-Snake River salmon from harm caused by the operation of federal dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers. Today’s court action – which has been ongoing for almost a decade – is a landmark decision for fishing and conservation groups, the state of Oregon and the Nez Perce and Spokane tribes, all of which have opposed the federal biological opinion, or BiOp, in court.
Read MoreIndustrial efficiency program nets national honor for NEEA
The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) has named The Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) as one of its 2011 “Champions of Energy Efficiency in Industry.”
According to ACEEE’s news release, the honor recognizes NEEA’s efforts in designing innovative industrial energy efficiency programs, and for collaborating with Northwest industrial customers in transforming the market for industrial energy efficiency.
To read the ACEEE announcement, go here.
Read MoreReport: House committee holds work session on potential changes to Initiative 937
Washington state’s House Environment Committee held an interim work session on I-937 on Tuesday, July 26. Chair Dave Upthegrove (D-Des Moines), Ranking Minority Member Shelly Short (R-Addy) and fellow Reps. Larry Crouse (R-Spokane), Steve Tharinger (D-Sequim) and Joe Fitzgibbon (D-Burien) attended. Howard Schwartz of the Northwest Power and Conservation Council gave the committee a brief…
Read MoreSalmon Group Wades Into Pacific Northwest Curtailment Battle
A group of salmon advocates is siding with wind developers in their battle against system operator Bonneville Power Administration (BPA).
High seasonal river flows resulting from runoff from large snowpacks caused an overabundance of hydropower and left no room on the grid to accommodate wind power. This led the BPA to curtail wind production this spring, which angered wind developers and prompted them to file a complaint with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in June.
Read MoreOne step closer to a coal-free Oregon
Another step toward finalizing the Boardman, Ore., plant’s transition off of coal was taken early this week. The Sierra Club and its co-plaintiffs (NW Energy Coalition was not a plaintiff) settled their Clean Air Act suit with plant owner Portland General Electric.
Read MoreNorthwest Power and Conservation Council honored for best-ever regional plan
In recognition of the most far-sighted, clean energy-based power plan in regional history, the NW Energy Coalition last week presented its highest award to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council.
This year’s award goes to the Council members, staff and advisory committee members who produced the Sixth Northwest Power and Conservation Plan in early 2010. The plan projects the next 20 years of regionwide electricity needs and prescribes the means of meeting them. The Sixth Plan tells Northwest utilities they can and should meet 85% of new needs with bill-reducing energy efficiency and most of the rest with new, clean renewable energy.
Read MoreUpdate: US House of Representatives wastes time and energy
After the BULB bill suffered a defeat in the House on Tuesday because proponents could not muster the needed 2/3 majority, the sponsors tried a different tact. Today the House approved an amendment to the Department of Energy’s spending bill, a vote that required only a simple majority vote.
Read MoreHouse Refuses to Pull Plug on Energy-Efficient Lighting
In a show of support for energy efficiency, the U.S. House of Representatives voted against a bill that would have turned back time on the way Americans light their homes.
Congress voted down the politically named “Better Use of Light Bulbs” (BULB) Act, which was sponsored by Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), on a 233-193 vote, missing by 40 votes the two-thirds majority needed for passage.
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