Oct. 2024 Newsletter – Join us at the Clean & Affordable Energy Conference and on the ground updates

Power Up for Fall Energy Conference Season

NW Energy Map 2.0

Join the NW Energy Coalition for our Fall 2024 Clean & Affordable Energy Conference: Nov. 13 

Wednesday, Nov. 13, 8 AM – 5 PM, at University of Washington’s HUB in Seattle, WA! Be sure to stick around for the Clean Energy Awards Reception from 5 – 7 PM. We are excited to announce our award recipients: 

Join us for a day of learning, information sharing and celebrating our regional energy progress!

This year, we’ll also break out into small groups for some information sharing around the topic of energy justice. Access to affordable electricity, water, housing, wildfire and community resilience are increasingly intersectional issues as we address climate impacts and advance the clean energy transformation. We’ll engage in small group discussions to share our own experiences, deepen mutual understanding and explore ways to build broader collaboration across sectors. 

REGISTER

Thank you to our sponsors:


OSSIA Oregon Solar + Storage Conference: Oct. 22 – 24 

The Oregon Solar + Storage Conference is a three-day event in Portland, OR, where attendees can network with local customers and dealers, as well as enhance their expertise in the field of solar energy. Join 500+ other attendees in interactive sessions on solar industry topics like Technical Training, Business Development, Solar Policy, Utility Scale PV, Storage, and more. Most sessions will provide you with the opportunity to earn the CEUs necessary for professional licenses and NABCEP certification, ensuring a valuable return on your investment. 

When: Tuesday Oct. 22 – Thursday Oct. 24 
Where: Portland Crowne Plaza, 1441 NE 2nd Ave, Portland, OR 97232 
Website and registration: https://www.orssia.org/osec 


Giving Tuesday is Coming Up

Thanks to the NWEC Board and an anonymous donor, we have $2-to-$1 matching funds for all gifts made to NWEC on Giving Tuesday. When you give, your donation helps us advance our work to transform and decarbonize Northwest communities. We continue to lead efforts to advance energy efficiency and energy equity, transportation electrification, clean buildings and clean cars, grid resilience and system reliability, and salmon restoration in the Columbia Basin.   

We are deeply grateful for your support of our work. Through your donations, memberships, and participation in our organization, the Coalition continues the important work of accelerating the clean energy transition in the Northwest.  

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In the States, on the Ground

Washington

The NW Energy Coalition urges people to vote NO on I-2066 this November: 

  • I-2066 would increase energy bills. It would require utilities to continue investing in outdated pipelines and technology, and the costs would be passed onto families and businesses. 
  • I-2066 attacks energy efficiency. It would jeopardize energy efficiency protections, limit programs, and take away important customer rebates, raising costs for Washington families. 
  • I-2066 would limit local governments from being able to make smart energy decisions that are best for their communities. 

Take action to ensure Washington votes NO on I-2066:  

Be an influencer! Talk to your peers, friends and family early and often, make sure they’re registered to vote, and make sure they know to vote “NO” on I-2066 and “NO” on I-2117, the roll back of the Climate Commitment Act.  

Oregon

Governor Kotek Issues Executive Order on Salmon Recovery  

The executive order reaffirms Oregon’s commitment to restoring wild salmon, steelhead and other native fish to the Columbia River Basin. The Governor directs her state agencies to take all actions necessary to support Oregon’s commitments to the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative. The EO includes specific timelines for state agencies to report out on their plans and actions to assure support for the broader federal, Tribal and state efforts to achieve the goals in the CBRI. The Governor also calls on the Northwest Power and Conservation Council to look for opportunities to advance salmon recovery goals.  

The Oregon State Energy Strategy 

The Oregon Department of Energy (ODOE) is in the process of developing the Oregon State Energy Strategy. In accordance with HB 3630 enacted in 2023, ODOE will deliver it to Governor Kotek and the legislature just over a year from now, by November 1, 2025. 

 ODOE selected a wide-ranging Energy Strategy Advisory Group and eight topic area subgroups, and commissioned Coalition member organization Clean Energy Transition Institute (CETI) to manage the research component.  

The design phase for the modeling, including a great deal of input from the advisory groups and the public, is now in place. When completed in early 2025, the initial modeling results will be reviewed through the stakeholder process, and the next phase will focus on an overall narrative and a strategy. Notably, HB 3630 gives prominence to consideration of environmental justice, energy burden and affordability, and community benefits and energy resilience. 

The Coalition is fully involved in the process and encourages our members to provide your input to us at fred@nwenergy.org and alessandra@nwenergy.org, and also directly to ODOE. See the State Energy Strategy Q&A for more details. 

Idaho

Idaho Power started the 2025 Integrated Resource Plan Advisory Council process. Idaho Power forecasts substantial load growth over the next 10 years as industry, agriculture and residential growth continues.  

For new resources, Idaho Power is currently adding solar, batteries, and more market purchases. Looking ahead, the Coalition will advocate for more of the same and increased focus on efficiency and demand response to mitigate load growth. 

The Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) is a region-wide entity focused on efficiency measures and market transformation. Avista and Idaho Power are both seeking approval to fund NEEA’s next five-year business cycle. This request includes a deeper analysis of NEEA’s reported energy savings to address Idaho Public Utilities Commission (PUC) concerns about the value of NEEA investments. Resolving this concern has been a NWEC goal for many years. 

Montana

NW Energy Coalition (NWEC), Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Human Resource Council District XI (HRC), have jointly intervened in NorthWestern Energy Montana rate case. Filed initially on July 10, 2024, before several deficiencies with the utility’s application delayed the Commission’s ability to review the case, NorthWestern’s rate case requests a substantial increase to both its electric and natural gas rates. As part of its request, NorthWestern is requesting a bridge rate to recover approximately $58.5 million for its investments in the Yellowstone County Generating Station (YCGS) until the utility is able to get final rates approved by the Commission. 

NWEC, NRDC and HRC XI are skeptical of the utility’s decision to move forward with this resource as it was based on faulty assumptions, and the utility could have moved forward with a blend of non-emitting resources such as batteries and demand-side resources that would have protected the interests of its customers.  

Coalition members, Montana Environmental Information Council and Renewable Northwest, have also intervened in this case.  

Northwest

New Reports on Accelerating Demand and New Resource Needs 

This year a lot of attention has turned to the recent growth in Northwest electricity demand and especially the projections for accelerated increases in the years ahead. The demands are driven by the growth of industrial load such as data centers and silicon fabrication, as well as oncoming decarbonization demand including electric vehicles as well as conversion of gas to electric heating, cooling and water heating.  

Two recent reports address our new era of growth in power demand. 

The Northwest Power and Conservation Council issued its 2024 resource adequacy assessment this summer. The Council annually updates a five-year lookahead that considers varying levels of load growth as well as the acquisition of new resources and produces a resource adequacy scorecard. They note the demand pressure being added by new data centers but show that moderate growth will likely be manageable if the Northwest picks up the pace of acquiring new renewable energy, storage and customer side resources. 

The Council also highlights the risks of backsliding on efforts for regional energy efficiency development. While a considerable amount of new renewable resources are being added to the Northwest grid, energy efficiency continues to play a key and growing role in an era of rapid load growth. 

To be sure, the Council’s recently issued annual review of energy efficiency shows the region slightly ahead of target for the 2021 Northwest Power Plan covering the period from 2023 to 2028. However, the Council lowered that range somewhat from previous plans even as regional power demand began picking up, so the pressure is on to keep new energy efficiency well ahead of the target. 

The most recent report is the Bonneville Power Administration’s annual Northwest Loads and Resources Study, widely known as the White Book, named for the color of the printed copy cover. While the 2023 White Book projected a regional energy shortfall starting in 2033, this year’s review shows a deficit starting in 2027, just three years from now. 

These two reports confirm the prospects of a new demand-growth era we are in and highlight the importance of accelerating the development of new clean energy resources in generation, storage and on the customer side with energy efficiency, flexible load and distributed clean energy like rooftop and community solar.  


Support our work to accelerate the Northwest’s transition to a clean, affordable, and equitable energy future.

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