Policy
Feds Maintain Status Quo as Salmon Numbers Struggle
Late last Friday, the federal “Action Agencies” (Bonneville Power Administration, Army Corps of Engineers, and Bureau of Reclamation) that run the federal dams on the Snake and Columbia Rivers, submitted their 2011 Annual Progress report to the U.S. district court in Portland, Oregon, that’s overseeing the ongoing litigation over the federal salmon plan (also known as a biological opinion). This annual self-assessment presents the agencies’ view of how well they are implementing a biological opinion (in this case, one that has already been ruled illegal in court). This morning, the main findings were presented to interested parties at NOAA’s offices in Portland….
Avista, Inland far surpass clean energy goals
Regional electricity providers Avista Utilities and Inland Power and Light recorded impressive accomplishments over the first reporting period for Washington’s clean energy law, Initiative 937.
Read and hear the exciting news about clean energy progress in the Spokane area ….
Coalition Comments on the Draft Oregon 10-Year Energy Action Plan
July 31,2012 Governor John Kitzhaber 160 State Capitol 900 Court Street Salem, Oregon 97301-4047 RE: Comments on the Draft Oregon10- Year Energy Action Plan Dear Governor Kitzhaber: The NW…
BPA Integrated Program Review comments
August 10, 2012 Claudia Andrews, Chief Financial Officer Bonneville Power Administration PO Box 14428 Portland, OR 97293 Via electronic submission at www.bpa.gov/publiccomments Dear Ms. Andrews: We appreciate the opportunities Bonneville…
NWEC Ecology letter 7-20-12
Given the progress being made by Washington’s energy sector to reduce its carbon footprint, it is extraordinarily frustrating that the Department of Ecology intends to weaken clean air rules and avoid its duty to regulate greenhouse gases from industrial sources including oil refineries. The oil refineries account for six to eight percent of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions; the Department of Ecology has the duty and the obligation to enforce the law to bring these emissions under control.
Battery charger standards in contention
A broad coalition of energy efficiency, environmental, and public interest organizations, consumer groups, and energy providers (including the NW Energy Coalition) sent a letter today encouraging the Department of Energy to strengthen the proposed efficiency standards for battery chargers. DOE’s initial proposal sacrifices hundreds of millions of dollars in energy savings and seriously risks increasing national energy use and greenhouse gas emissions compared to simply permitting state standards to continue to exist.
BPA Integrated Program Review – Energy efficiency talking points
Download a .doc version here BPA Integrated Program Review Energy efficiency talking points NW Energy Coalition July 13, 2012 The Bonneville Power Administration is setting its budget for the 2014-15…
NWEC comments on the Northwest Power and Conservation Council’s Draft 2011 Expenditures Report
July 6, 2012 Mark Walker Public Affairs Division Director Northwest Power & Conservation Council 851 SW 6th Avenue, Suite 1100 Portland, Oregon 97204-1348 Dear Mr. Walker: The NW Energy…
The Olympian: 9th circuit upholds state code for home-energy use
In an apparent defeat for the Building Industry Association of Washington, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a federal court ruling in favor of the State Building Codes Council over standards for increasing the energy efficiency of homes that it adopted in 2009. The NW Energy Coalition, Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council and Washington Environmental Council intervened in defense of the higher energy standards.
NW Energy Coalition forest biomass resolution and guidance document
The Coalition’s forest biomass resolution and corresponding “Forest Biomass Guidance for Use in Electricity Production” was passed by the full board at the spring meeting on May 19. The guidance principles represent an important step in addressing many of the questions raised regarding the responsible use of the byproducts of forestry activities for energy generation. Below is a formatted PDF copy of the final guidance paper, which we hope you’ll feel free to share with any interested parties.
The document addresses the dearth of available policy guidance on this particular issue and represents an important step forward in engaging a variety of stakeholder viewpoints. While these documents are final for now, Coalition staff plan on keeping a close eye as new policy decisions and studies continue to emerge in this field. We look forward to keeping our members apprised as new information develops.
NW Energy Coalition Resolution on Forest Biomass for Electricity Generation – May 19, 2012
NWEC Forest Biomass Guidance for Use in Electricity Production