Oregon
NWEC comments on the draft PGE Smart Grid Report
Click here for the NW Energy Coalition’s comments on the draft PGE Smart Grid Report.
How clean energy is faring in Northwest state legislatures
This fall and spring, NW Energy Coalition staff have been working in state legislative sessions throughout the region to advance and especially to defend clean and affordable energy laws. Each legislature is different, but many of the issues being addressed are familiar ones: energy efficiency, including building codes; renewable energy incentives and targets; distributed generation options, particularly resident-sited solar power; and coal plants and climate. Low-income protection and electric vehicle infrastructure are also getting legislative looks.
Portland Monthly: Drink "green" this St. Patrick's Day with eco-friendly beers
This Portland Monthly article showcases how eight Oregon breweries have made strides to lower their carbon footprint by switching to renewable energy, recycling steam, sourcing local ingredients, installing efficient lighting, capturing methane, saving water, cutting transportation emissions and reusing spent grain. Raise a glass to these innovative breweries this St. Paddy’s Day!
Unclouding the Council's crystal ball: What we look at changes everything
Scenario planning lies at the heart of the analysis used to develop the 7th Northwest Power and Conservation Plan. The Northwest Power and Conservation Council wants your help in selecting and shaping the scenarios to be used. The 7th Plan will guide utilities’ energy choices, theoretically for the next 20 years and practically for at least five. Please look over the proposed scenarios and let the Council – and us – know which ones they must consider seriously while developing the 7th Plan.
Tell BPA to fulfill its energy efficiency commitments
Your help is needed to bolster Bonneville Power Administration’s commitment to energy efficiency. BPA is examining energy efficiency financing issues as part of a supplemental budget process and has floated two troublesome proposals: one to cut $10 million from the efficiency budget over the next rate period; the other to shift from capitalizing energy efficiency to expensing it. BPA needs to hear from stakeholders throughout the region that both of these ideas run counter to the region’s best interests.
Lower load growth expectations for 7th Plan don't reduce importance of energy efficiency
Northwest Power and Conservation Council staff expect significantly slower growth in energy demand over the next 20 years than was predicted in the 6th regional power plan five years ago. This means we can meet an even higher percentage of new load with energy efficiency – saving more money for families and businesses, reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and cleanly powering our growing fleet of electric vehicles. Realizing those savings, and their benefits, will be a primary 7th Plan goal for clean and affordable energy advocates throughout the Northwest.
Webinar on utility-scale wind and natural gas peaking plants this Thursday, 10-11:30 a.m. PST
As part of developing the region’s 7th Power Plan, the Northwest Power and Conservation Council’s power committee is holding a webinar on specific generation resources tomorrow — Thursday, Jan. 29 — from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Pacific time. The posted agenda items are (1) assessment of natural gas natural gas peaking plants (single-cycle combustion turbines or SCCTs and reciprocating engines) and (2) assessment of onshore utility-scale wind.
7th Power and Conservation Plan vehicle to clean energy future
Every five years, the region’s official power planning agency prepares an updated 20-year forecast of the Northwest’s electric power needs and a plan for how those needs should be met. The forthcoming 7th Plan will help us raise the bar higher, capitalize on our region’s clean energy success and set us on the course to a cleaner, more affordable and wildlife-friendly future. We need all hands on deck … starting now!
Northwest Power and Conservation Council seeks comments on direct natural gas use, aka 'fuel switching'
As it develops the 7th Plan, the Northwest Power and Conservation Council is releasing a series of issue papers for public comment. This week the Council released its “Direct Use of Natural Gas Analysis,” with a comment period running through Feb. 20. Despite the potential thermal efficiencies of direct use, the Council has never considered switching from electric to gas heat to be conservation.
Wendy Gerlitz takes policy helm, completing leadership team transition
Wendy Gerlitz, a NW Energy Coalition senior policy associate for the past four years, has become policy director for the organization. Gerlitz replaces longtime policy director Nancy Hirsh, who is now the Coalition’s executive director. Both changes became effective Jan. 1, the date on which Sara Patton officially stepped down after 20-plus years as Coalition director.