Resources & Publications

Volume 4, Number 6 Clean energy forces win a lot, lose a little in BPA’s power allocation scheme Table of Contents Background Double, double, toil and trouble – The basic problem Renewed interest – Renewables commitment Tracks of my tiers – Meeting load growth How high’s the water, momma? – Power allocations Fish keep the […]

A giant of the Northwest’s clean-energy and social-justice movements is gone. Doug Still organized and served the needs of migrant farm workers in the 1950s, marched for civil rights in Chicago and Selma in the ’60s, fought for equal opportunity in education as head of United Ministries in Public Education, which he helped found in […]

Volume 4, Number 5 Power Council-BPA study shows feasibility of integrating wind in the Northwest Background In December 2004, the Northwest Power and Conservation Council – the regional power-planning agency representing the governors of Montana, Idaho, Oregon and Washington – released its 5th Northwest Power Plan. The 5th Plan was groundbreaking. Not only did it […]

Volume 4, Number 4 Study shows region outpacing conservation goal Power Council seeks advice on hiking 5th Plan target Background In December 2004, energy efficiency advocates cheered the release of a new power plan that called for meeting half the predicted increase in Northwest energy demand with conservation. The Northwest Power and Conservation Council’s 5th […]

Volume 4, Number 3 Replacing the power from the Lower Snake dams Background On Nov. 15, 2006, salmon recovery advocates released Revenue Stream, a compilation of earlier reports on the costs and benefits of removing the four Lower Snake River dams in southeastern Washington to restore Columbia Basin salmon species now on threatened or endangered […]

Vol.4, No.1 Shedding some light on solar costs Background As a renewable energy source, solar panels — or photovoltaics (PVs) — are still not widely utilized or generally seen as cost effective in this region. Two factors are combining to change that conclusion, however.  First, skyrocketing demand has dramatically driven down PV costs.  Second, utilities […]

A report from the Tellus Institute shows the Northwest can meet its growing need for electricity by increasing energy efficiency and investing in new sources of renewable power generation. Thanks to recent innovations, clean energy technologies are primed to compete with gas plants, the economic benchmark for new power generation. The results of the Tellus study cast doubt on the need for additional fossil fuel generation in the Northwest.

Generating Electric Power in the Pacific Northwest Implications of Alternative Technologies This report by the RAND Corp. examines the implications of alternative power generation technologies in the Northwest. The results are intended to inform both policy-makers and the public about the role of energy efficiency and renewables in meeting future power needs. Download the report […]

The four Northwest states boast abundant supplies of competitively priced clean energy — more than enough to meet all new demand for electricity through 2020. A clean and affordable energy future can be ours, just by delivering the energy efficiency, wind power and other clean, renewable resources at our disposal. This energy future has more family-wage jobs and competitive businesses and a healthier rural economy than any alternative.

This Citizens Energy Plan is a roadmap to that future. Only citizens from diverse backgrounds working together can move the region farther along this road.

Clean energy: good business and good for business

Across the Northwest, companies large and small are investing in energy efficiency and renewable generation. This Energy Activist edition explores the business case for energy efficiency and renewables and looks at what some
companies are doing.