Ben Kujala, the Northwest Power and Conservation Council's director of power planning, is leaving to join a Montreal-based consulting firm. Read More
Top Stories
FERC issued a notice on March 24 that the proposed 1,200 MW Goldendale closed-loop pumped-storage project [P-14861] is ready for environmental analysis and soliciting comments. Read More
PacifiCorp and Cowlitz County PUD laid out plans to complete upstream and downstream fish passage on the Lewis River by 2028 in a March 15 update to FERC. Read More
The Upper Columbia United Tribes (UCUT) is releasing more than 4,500 juvenile Chinook this spring as part of a research study on out-migration from areas both above and below Columbia River hydroelectric projects with no juvenile fish passage structures. Read More
Multiple opportunities exist for speeding up the adoption of variable speed heat pumps in homes across the Northwest, according to a recently published study from the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance. Read More
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is preparing for a sixth consecutive year of poor summer steelhead returns to the Columbia Basin by asking for public input about this year's management of steelhead fishing. Read More
The U.S. Department of Energy on March 28 announced 22 inaugural participants in the Communities Local Energy Action Program (LEAP), a first-of-its-kind initiative designed to help communities take direct control of their clean energy future. Read More
As the COVID-19 pandemic grinds into a third year, the Washington UTC extended protections for financially struggling customers in a March 29 order [U-200281]. Read More
Yellowstone County commissioners have approved a floodplain permit critical to building NorthWestern Energy's proposed 175 MW natural gas-fired peaking plant in Laurel, Mont. Read More
A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposal on March 23 to list northern long-eared bats as endangered could delay wind energy projects east of the Rocky Mountains. The status of the bats is deteriorating due to white-nose syndrome. Wind projects with Habitat Conservation Plans to mitigate the… Read More
Former BPA Administrator and Chelan County PUD GM Steve Wright came on NewsData's Energy West podcast to talk about how much the Northwest power industry is changing and where it's headed. Wright retired from Chelan PUD at the end of December. This is an abridged transcript of his conversati… Read More
The shoulder season continues with California natural gas prices trending higher and additions being made to storage, but Western power prices ended trading lower this week with softer demand. Read More
For your convenience, NewsData has compiled a list of the acronyms we utilize throughout the Clearing Up publication. Read more
Richard Glick, chairman of FERC, joined Crystal Ball of Pacific Northwest Utilities Conference Committee, Matt Schroettnig of Northwest Requirements Utilities and Paul Dockery of Clatskanie PUD for the fourth installment of our Electric Market Enthusiasm series. Read more
We want to hear from you on energy issues and to share your thoughts with our readership. Read more
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- Reminding Us of Our Impact
- Singing Along With Clearing Up
BPA has proposed changing how hydro generation is forecast to reflect recent climate change trends and capture anticipated ranges of uncertainty. Read More
The Oregon PUC acknowledged the bulk of the preferred portfolio in PacifiCorp's 2021 integrated resource plan, but declined to acknowledge the utility's plan to acquire an experimental, small modular nuclear reactor in 2028. Read More
Three natural gas utilities have petitioned a state appeals court for a judicial review of Oregon's Climate Protection Program, which was adopted by the Oregon Environmental Quality Commission in December. Read More
A White House blog signed by top officials of five federal agencies indicates a shift in perspective on future management of Columbia River salmon and steelhead, and on the long-standing issue over the four lower Snake River dams. Read More
A White House blog entry that detailed recent consultations with tribes and discussions with stakeholders led by the Council on Environmental Quality garnered varied reactions from those involved in a long-standing lawsuit over operations at Columbia Basin dams and their impacts to salmon. Read More
Formal negotiations over BPA's post-2028 power contracts won't formally start until April 21, but Bonneville's public power customers have laid the foundation for negotiations in a concept paper released by the Public Power Council March 30. Read More
President Joe Biden on March 31 invoked the Defense Production Act to spur expanded domestic mining and processing of critical minerals needed to produce batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage. Meanwhile, Biden ordered release of 180 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petr… Read More