Year: 2013
Idaho Power will invest in coal, for now
By Rocky Barker Idaho Stateman Idacorp CEO LaMont Keen said Thursday that Idaho Power Co. will continue to rely on coal plants in Wyoming and Nevada, but revisit that decision in its next two-year planning process. Keen told…
Fish collector could boost Baker Lake summer sockeye numbers
By Mark Yuasa Seattle Times Baker Lake summer sockeye could soon see a dramatic boost in returns. Puget Sound Energy work crews launched a second 1,100-ton barge fish collector March 1, anchored just above Lower Baker Dam on…
Elwha dam removal hostage to water plant repairs
By Lynda V. Mapes Seattle Times Elwha dam removal is hostage to repairs at water-treatment facilities built as part of the $325 million federal river-restoration project. The National Park Service, which is leading the dam-removal project, has hired a…
BPA plan would share costs of wind-power shutdown
By Hal Bernton Seattle Times The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) this week released a new proposal to share the “oversupply costs” that pile up when there is not enough demand for all the electricity produced by hydroelectric dams…
Small hydro projects bill passes U.S. House
By Staff Tri-City Herald The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill Wednesday to boost development of small hydropower projects. The bill would authorize hydropower development on man-made Bureau of Reclamation canals and stream-line regulatory processes. It has…
Mighty list of Columbia River concerns
By Robert Hotakinen Yakima Herald WASHINGTON — When President Dwight Eisenhower signed the Columbia River Treaty with Canada as one of his last official acts in January of 1961, global warming did not rank as a public concern….
Cantwell introduces bill to boost hydro
By Annette Cary Tri-City Herald WASHINGTON, D.C. — Legislation that could boost the development of small hydropower projects was introduced Wednesday in the U.S. Senate, announced Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash. It would remove licensing barriers for small hydropower…