The Energy Activist – Fall 2011
The NW Energy Coalition celebrates three decades
of clean & affordable energy accomplishments
and looks toward the future
Then and Now…The NW Energy Coalition was born of the battle against the absurdly misguided attempt to litter the Northwest with dozens of dangerous, polluting, unneeded and expensive, consumer-assaulting nuclear power plants. This year the Coalition celebrates its 30th anniversary as the region’s leading advocate for policies promoting energy efficiency, new renewable energy development, consumer/low-income protection and energy assistance, and wild salmon restoration in the Columbia Basin. Much has changed in three decades, from the organization’s name, to the breadth of its advocacy, to the Northwest’s energy landscape itself…
We remember 30 years of clean and affordable energy success… Tomorrow…A series of articles looking at tomorrow’s clean energy challenges and how we’ll meet them. Taking the region’s clean energy future to the entire WestKen Toole, The Policy Institute Two hundred billion is a really big number. According to a new Western Grid Group report, that’s how many dollars will be spent on Western states’ power systems over the next 20 years, regardless of how we choose to replace aging power plants and meet estimated growth in energy demand… Overcoming hurdles to energy efficiencyDick Fiddler, Sierra Club It was a privilege to be part of the amazingly thoughtful effort in the 1980s to make energy efficiency a practical, effective resource here in the Northwest. The NW Energy Coalition’s 30th anniversary reminds us of those fruitful, exciting times… _____________________________ Seeing energy consumers’ future challenges todayBob Jenks, Citizens’ Utility Board of Oregon The greatest future challenges for low-income and other energy consumers are readily apparent today. These include the fundamental affordability of electricity, climate change, energy efficiency costs and benefits, integrating new renewables such as wind, and the promises and dangers of the “smart grid…” Bringing new voices to the clean energy choirLeeAnne Beres, Earth Ministry The Coalition’s diverse and active membership makes it one of the Northwest’s most influential public-interest voices on energy policy. We must continue our long history of reaching out and bringing new partners into our work… Honoring the Coalition’s work by stopping King Coal’s conveyor beltKC Golden, Climate Solutions The NW Energy Coalition should be incredibly proud of the recent deals to shutter the Boardman and Centralia coal plants. The Coalition’s work – the long legacy of achievement in energy efficiency, renewable resources and energy system planning – is what made this transition thinkable, then doable, then done. King Coal, however, is not taking our progress lying down… Striving for balance between hydropower and fishTom Stuart, Idaho Rivers United For too long, the region has failed to strike the credible balance between hydropower production and salmon survival required by the 1980 Northwest Power Act. Some wild salmon runs have gone entirely extinct; several others remain stuck in an endless loop of Endangered Species Act processes, insufficient federal actions and litigation. Millions of energy ratepayer dollars have been wasted on ineffective salmon mitigation programs… |
From the Board Chair, Chuck Magraw: Involvement key to meeting challenges, seizing opportunitiesTo my knowledge, no comparable organization can match its membership diversity. That diversity, coupled with the extremely knowledgeable people that make up the Coalition Board and work in member organizations, along with a hard-working, dedicated staff, make it the ideal place to address energy matters… From the Executive Director: Still unconventional after all these yearsRecently I had occasion to spout off on the fallacy of the conventional energy wisdom from 30 plus years ago … the very conventional wisdom that the Coalition was born to challenge… Coalition to celebrate 30 years of clean energy policy achievementThree decades of successful advocacy for clean energy and abundant wild salmon will be celebrated with a 30th Anniversary Gala the evening of Friday, Dec. 2, in Seattle… NW Clean & Affordable Energy Conference brings utility commissioners from all 4 Northwest statesSet for Friday and Saturday, Dec. 2-3, in Seattle, the Conference will tackle some of the most pressing issues and fascinating developments in the campaign for a clean energy future. Utility regulation, salmon recovery, clean energy for buildings, transmission/ecosystem issues will be on the agenda… Coalition Staff
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