Providing balanced information for using water as a renewable energy resource in the Northwest
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…
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…
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…
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….
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…
By Eric Florip and Aaron Corvin The Columbian Anyone involved in the winter tourism industry knows what uncertainty feels like. Snow is currency, and climate change could deliver a damaging blow to businesses that depend on wintry weather,…
By Cassandra Profita Oregon Public Broadcasting The city of Portland is looking at a new system that will generate hydropower without environmental impacts to fish and stream flows. Portland-based Lucid Energy Inc. designs turbines that generate electricity from…
By Associated Press The Oregonian GRANTS PASS — A federal report says removing four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River in Oregon and California and restoring ecosystems will produce a big increase in salmon harvests and boost farm…
By Kyung M. Song The Seattle Times WASHINGTON — After much dithering, Congress earlier this month gave a lift to wind-power producers by renewing a tax credit worth more than $12 billion over the next decade. But the…
By Michelle DuplerTri-City Herald Rep. Larry Haler is hoping to lower energy prices in Washington by amending the state constitution. Haler, R-Richland, has filed a piece of legislation called House Joint Resolution 4200 that would change the state…