Coalition's Spring Board Meeting a rousing success

This May 18-19, more than 60 NW Energy Coalition board members, clean-energy activists, utility officials and others gathered in Boise for theCoalition’s annual Spring Board Meeting and Conference. On the agenda were the latest developments and policy considerations regarding climate change, Columbia Basin salmon restoration and low-income advocacy.

The conference kicked off with a tour of Boise’s Banner Bank building, one of the only buildings to earn  the highest LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating -- platinum. Project architect Rick Hunter showed a documentary on the project and led the Coalition group on a tour of some of areas still under construction. The 11-story building uses 60 percent less energy than a typical office building of the same size. The building’s developers, the Christensen Corp., completed the $20 million dollar project on time and on-budget.

Karl Bokenkamp, Power Supply General Manager for Idaho Power Co., receives an award from Coalition Board Chair Bill Eddie and Executive Director Sara Patton for his leadership for a clean and affordable future in Idaho Power’s integrated resource plan.

Following the field trip, attendees settled in for the first of many fascinating presentations and panel discussions.

Executive Director Sara Patton and Coalition Chair Bill Eddie welcomed everyone and presented Idaho Power’s Karl Bokenkamp a resolution honoring his work on developing a more sophisticated resource planning model that takes into account carbon and market variability risk.

Coalition Policy Director Nancy Hirsh then introduced a panel discussion of Northwest carbon and coal policy.

Idaho State Sen. Clint Stennett (D-25), tells how he and other clean energy supporters defeated a proposed coal-fired power plant in the state.

Idaho State Sen. Clint Stennett detailed state energy activists’ successfully fight against a proposed coal-fired power plant, and stressed the importance of grassroots involvement in local energy issues. David Stewart-Smith of Pacific Energy Systems explained how a carbon cap-and-trade system might work, while Ralph Cavanagh of the Natural Resources Defense Council opened an extensive dialogue on competing cap-and-trade and/or pollution-credit allocation strategies.

Saturday began with a panel headed by, Idaho Rivers United Executive Director Bill Sedivy, who provided a comprehensive overview of the campaign to restore Columbia and Snake rivers salmon. (Bill’s introductory PowerPoint can be downloaded here). Bert Bowler, also of IRU, presented historical and current scientific data showing how dam building in the Northwest (specifically the four Lower Snake River dams) has decimated once-prolific salmon runs.

Pat Ford speaks on the panel on the campaign to restore Columbia and Snake rivers salmon

Sam Mace and Pat Ford of the Save Our Wild Salmon (SOS) coalition offered their insights on the cultural, economic and social effects of declining salmon runs on local communities. Ford cited the recent SOS, Revenue Stream, showing that the economic benefits of removing the four Lower Snake River dams far outweigh the negatives. Mace discussed the progress of salmon advocates’ outreach to farmers and others traditional opponents of dam removal.

During lunch, Executive Sara Patton bids a fond farewell to former Coalition Idaho Energy Advocate Ken Miller, who has become Energy Program Director for the Boise-based Snake River Alliance.

Following the panel, state caucuses met to elect new representatives, catch up on local issues and discuss policy going forward. At lunch, Ken Robinette of the South Central Community Action Partnership reported on the current state of low-income energy assistance in the Northwest. Conference participants then joined in a roundtable discussion of the implications of the 9th Circuit Court rulings that, in part, invalidated the method by which the Bonneville Power Administration distributes benefits of the federal hydrosystem to residential and small farm customers of investor-owned utilities.

At the conference-ending business meeting of the full Coalition Board. Executive Director Sara Patton said goodbye to outgoing Board Chair Bill Eddie, presenting the former Idahoan with a Mr. Potato Head (special edition, Darth “Tater” version). Pat Judge of the Montana Environmental Information Center was elected Coalition Chair for the next two years. Several other Executive Board members were newly elected or renewed. Finally the full Board tackled the topic of climate change and began to develop an official resolution to help guide Coalition staff as they work on climate-related policies.