Renewable energy
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Clean, renewable energy sources – including wind, solar and geothermal power – do not pollute our air or our water and will never run out, unlike coal, natural gas and other fossil fuels. While fossil fuels are still the dominant source of electricity worldwide, renewable energy development is on the rise. Wind power is the fastest growing new energy source in the world. Widespread use of wind and other renewable power sources will bring costs down, making clean energy even more attractive than fossil fuels. Hydrogen fuel cells and other emerging energy technologies are also blazing the trail to a clean and affordable energy future.
- The Transformer - June 25, 2009
- Integrating wind power into the grid - If the region is going to meet new power needs and fulfill its climate-stabilization responsibilities, it will have to capture all cost-effective energy savings and develop thousands of megawatts of new, clean renewable energy. This new edition of The Transformer looks at how wind power will play an integral role in a clean and affordable energy future...
- The Transformer - August 6, 2008
- Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles are a step beyond traditional hybrid vehicles such as the emblematic Toyota Prius. Much of their fuel comes directly from the electric grid (rather than a gasoline engine), and thus their extensive employment has significant implications for the electric power system. This issue of The Transformer considers those implications...
- Montana Renewables at a Crossroads
- In this podcast from the 2008 Spring Conference and Board Meeting in Helena, MT, Moderator Ralph Cavanagh of NRDC and a panel of local and national experts discuss the possibilities and potential pitfalls of renewable energy generation in Montana.
- The Transformer - February 6, 2008
- Wind continues to provide just a small fraction of the region’s power. To really combat global warming we will need a lot more renewable energy of all types in the next 15-20 years. This issue of The Transformer considers a recent study from the Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies (CEERT) that examines the economics of “mega projects.”
- Renewables-First Generation/Transmission Projects
- Many policy-makers and generation developers think that, especially in theWest and Midwest, renewables cannot be developed on a large scale without coal as a transmission partner. This paper presents a contrary case—that large-scale renewable energygeneration projects (“Mega-Projects”) appear able to economically justify major transmission infrastructure, with no initial participation by coal.
- WA Governor approves Kittitas County wind project
- After a long process of back and forth, Governor Chris Gregoire has approved the Kittitas County wind project, marking a major victory for clean energy advocates...
- The Transformer - June 25, 2007
- Power Council-BPA study shows feasibility of integrating wind in the Northwest - As more and more wind projects sprout up across the region, planners wonder how much wind the power system can reliably and economically incorporate into the electricity system...
- The Transformer - June 19, 2007
- Study shows region outpacing conservation goal - This edition presents the study’s findings and relays a question from the Council: Should the 5th Northwest Power and Conservation Plan be amended to reflect a significantly larger pool of cost-effective energy efficiency opportunities?
- Citizens Energy Plan
- A clean and affordable energy future for the Northwest begins with reliable electricity services, ample enough to satisfy our basic human needs, improve our quality of life, protect the environment and create a vital local and regional economy. By concentrating on the long term rather than gambling on the short term, we can meet the region's growing demand for electricity without mortgaging our grandchildren's future, driving wild salmon to extinction or increasing global warming.
- New study shows that energy efficiency and renewables can slash U.S. global warming emissions
- The NW Energy Coalition, Sierra Club and other Washington state organizations have joined with the American Solar Energy Society (ASES) and the nation’s preeminent climate scientists in unveiling a new plan for dramatically reducing the nation’s global warming emissions...