Newsletter
Efficiency Works! Case Studies
All this talk about energy efficiency can, to the skeptical ear, sound like so much happy talk. Really, can something as simple as changing lights or adding insulation actually make a meaningful difference in my business’ financial performance?
Well, in a word, yes. Investments big and small can have an outsized impact on the amount you spend on energy.
Salmon 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.
One 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.
Northwest 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.
Update: 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.
House 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.
Why the BULB bill is bad for America
Analyses by the American Council for an Energy Efficiency Economy and the Appliance Standards Awareness Project shows that better bulbs equal consumer cost savings in every state.
Stop Congress from repealing light bulb efficiency standards that save you money and energy
Believe it or not, a bill before Congress aims to roll back energy savings measures that passed in 2007 with bipartisan support. The House plans to vote as soon as Monday, July 11, to repeal national energy efficiency standards for light bulbs. These standards will save consumers more than $10 billion a year and avoid about 100 million tons of global warming pollution, equal to the annual pollution of more than 14 million cars.
Contact your representative and urge them to vote NO on the BULB act!
New York Times: Atop TV sets, a power drain that runs nonstop
According to a recent New York Times article, some typical home entertainment configurations are eating more power than a new refrigerator and even some central air-conditioning systems. You can read the full article online at The New York Times.
Coalition member NRDC also released a study entertainment center "energy vampires" last month which you can read here.
It's still the economy, stupid
Newsweek has an article from former President Bill Clinton on how to put many of the fourteen million unemployed Americans back to work. The 42nd president has more than a dozen ideas on how to attack the jobs crisis and energy efficiency and renewables play a big part. Read it online here.
CUB’s Jenks is 2010 Headwaters Award winner
Citizens’ Utility Board of Oregon executive director Bob Jenks received the NW Energy Coalition’s coveted Headwaters Award last week in Portland. Coalition executive director Sara Patton presented Jenks the award, which recognizes his lifetime of advocacy on behalf of ratepayers and commitment to a clean and affordable energy future. Founded by Oregon voters in 1984,…
New Buildings Institute receives Coalition's highest award
The Coalition’s Bob Olsen Memorial Conservation Eagle award is presented annually to individuals and organizations that demonstrate leadership for a clean and affordable energy future. The Coalition board unanimously selected NBI as its 2010 Eagle winner…