Providing balanced information for using water as a renewable energy resource in the Northwest
By Christine Pratt Wenatchee World WENATCHEE — The Chelan County PUD’s top-priority repair has the powerhouse floor of Rocky Reach Dam looking something like a highly specialized yard sale. Turbine blades, bronze bushings the size of ottomans, boxes filled…
By Jody Lawrence-Turner Spokesman Review Glenn Phillips is a water-power cowboy. Faded, discolored pictures depict the Northport, Wash., man’s tale of building one of the first privately owned and operated miniature hydroelectric power plants. They show him digging in a…
By Rich Landers Spokesman Review FISHERIES — The eggs of endangered Kootenai River white sturgeon in Idaho and Montana are less likely to hatch in the river because of flow changes caused by Libby Dam and other human actions,…
By Andy Giegerich Sustainable Business Oregon Two energy advocates have released a case study that examines how hydropower can occur away from the natural river system. The Bonneville Environmental Foundation and Energy Trust of Oregon issued the study,…
By Jordan Collins Mintz Levin The 113th Congress, which is on track to pass fewer bills than any recent Congress, did pass two hydropower bills that were signed by President Obama on August 9, 2013. The two bills,…
By Staff SustainableBusiness.com Last week, President Obama had a rare moment where he signed legislation passed by both houses in Congress – two bills make it easier to develop small hydropower in the US. They streamline the process for…
By Sandi Doughton Seattle Times RICHLAND — Electric cars account for fewer than 0.05 percent of passenger vehicles in the United States today, but Michael Kintner-Meyer envisions a future where plug-ins rule the roads. The proliferation of electric…
By Staff Bonners Ferry News U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-ID) and John Barrasso (R-WY) on Friday praised the Senate’s unanimous passage of the “Bureau of Reclamation Small Conduit Hydropower Development and Rural Jobs Act.” The bill, which already…
By K.C. Mehaffey Wenatchee World OROVILLE — Aesthetics of Similkameen Falls must be considered if the Okanogan County PUD rebuilds the Enloe Dam to generate power, the Pollution Control Hearings Board ruled last week. The board affirmed the state…
By Jonathan Fahey Associated Press NEW YORK — Renewable energy is growing fast around the world and will edge out natural gas as the second- biggest source of electricity, after coal, by 2016, according to a five-year outlook…