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Inslee appoints Hirsh to chair energy advisory committee
Washington Governor Jay Inslee has appointed NW Energy Coalition Executive Director, Nancy Hirsh, to co-chair a 27-member advisory committee to guide an update to the state energy strategy. The committee’s charge is to identify policies and actions to ensure competitive energy prices, foster a clean energy economy, and ensure the state meets its greenhouse gas…
Read MoreFall 2019 Clean & Affordable Energy Conference Digest
Energy leaders discuss challenges and opportunities as the Northwest transitions to a clean energy system On December 2, the NW Energy Coalition hosted its Fall 2019 Clean & Affordable Energy Conference on the campus of the University of Washington in Seattle. Conference guests participated in discussions and presentations exploring the region’s upcoming transition to an…
Read MoreThe Technologies of The Harmonious Grid
The second in a series about changes coming to the Northwest electric system The internet of things (IoT) is an old concept that is about to come to fruition in the electric system. Grid-integrated appliances, home energy systems, and EV infrastructure are just a few of the “things” which the electric system will soon be…
Read MoreThe Harmonious Grid: A new direction for the NW electric system
The first in a series about coming changes to the Northwest electric system In ten years, the NW electric system will be a very different creature . . . we hope. In addition to reducing and ultimately removing fossil fuel resources, the grid will see another fundamental change — the integration of emerging customer-side resources…
Read MoreHow solar installers can diversify their workforces
The NW Energy Coalition has published a fact sheet summarizing tactics that solar installers can use to attract more people of color to the industry and to their companies. The fact sheet is derived from a study published in June by the Solar Foundation, which found that only about 10% of 7,300 solar industry jobs…
Read MoreCoalition members sue Trump administration over emissions rule
NW Energy Coalition members Seattle City Light and National Grid are among nine utilities suing the Trump administration over its plan to replace the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan with the Affordable Clean Energy rule. The plaintiffs, who call their group the Power Companies Climate Coalition, argue that the Environmental Protection Agency’s ACE rule undercuts…
Read MoreA simple choice to save salmon and orcas
In a recent letter to the editor of Orcas Issues News & Views, Lopez Island resident, Michael Karp, said of removing four lower Snake River dams, “. . . orcas here in the Salish Sea would have the best overall chance of survival by benefitting from the increases of endangered and threatened salmon and steelhead…
Read MoreIntro to new Washington Buildings Performance Standards
Implementing the Clean Buildings for Washington Act The Washington State Department of Commerce has finalized the rules for the Clean Buildings Act. Information on how to comply and other technical assistance is available on the Commerce webpage. The 2019 session of the Washington State Legislature enacted House Bill 1257, the Clean Buildings for Washington Act.…
Read MoreWind power, good for Montana’s economy and Washington’s energy system
State representative, Denise Hayman, encourages Washington investor-owned utilities to replace power from Colstrip with Montana wind Observing that two major Washington utilities — Puget Sound Energy and Avista — are currently weighing options for how to replace energy from the large, coal-fired power plant in Colstrip, Montana, state representative Denise Hayman, from Billings, makes a…
Read MorePGE’s Smart Grid Test Bed pioneers customer-side resources
Achieving a low-carbon or no-carbon energy system isn’t just a matter of switching our sources of electricity from coal-fired and natural gas-fired power plants to wind and solar power. It’s also about embracing more energy efficient houses, buildings, and appliances that reduce our need for electricity. And it’s about engaging new resources, many of them…
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