Idaho
OPALCO Board Rescinds Resolution Opposing Dam Removal
Today, the Orcas Power and Light Cooperative board of directors unanimously rescinded a resolution passed last September in which the board expressed its opposition to removal of four lower Snake River dams as well as the now ongoing Washington stakeholder process that is exploring the social and economic implications of possible dam removal. Confronted with…
Fall 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…
Colstrip Units 1 & 2 to retire at year end
This morning, Talen Montana, the operator and co-owner with Puget Sound Energy of Colstrip units 1 and 2, announced that the units will be retired at year-end. The retirement will remove a major emitter of greenhouse gases and air pollution from the Northwest energy system and, by freeing up transmission capacity from eastern Montana to…
What will it take to restore salmon and save orca whales?
Simpson says region must ask “what if?” lower Snake River dams are removed Will Washington legislature follow suit? BOISE, IDAHO — Republican Congressman Mike Simpson of Idaho energized a conference audience in Boise on Tuesday by declaring the need for the Northwest to explore the implications of removing four lower Snake River dams in order…
The need for lower Snake River dam stakeholder forum
The Seattle Times has published an op-ed titled, “Restore the Snake River? Stakeholder talks are the right next step” by Sam Mace of Coalition member Save Our wild Salmon. Sam makes the case for state funding for a proposed lower Snake River dam stakeholder forum. The forum would give Washington communities a voice in examining the…
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…
Fall 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…
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…
October 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…
Energy 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…