For decades, Washington has reaped the benefits of forward-thinking leaders who constructed a series of hydroelectric dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers. The low-cost, carbon-free renewable electricity generated by the dams supported thousands of jobs, and the irrigation made possible by the dams turned Eastern Washington’s soil into fertile...
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington, released the final edition of a study, Lower Snake River Dams: Benefit Replacement Report, that concludes the status quo is not an option when it comes to whether or not to remove the four dams.The study, released in late August,...
New paint recycling tops 581,000 gallonsPaintCare, Washington’s new paint recycling program, reports it collected more than 581,000 gallons of surplus paint in its first nine months.The program operates 210 year-round drop-off sites, mostly at paint stores, and recycled 88% of the latex paint collected back into usable paint. Of the...
Over the next few years, we’ll be hearing a lot about Scope 1, 2 and 3.No, it’s not a revisit of a famous trial in Tennessee about a hundred years ago. The terms invoke science, however. Instead of a reflection on human ancestry, they look ahead to the future of...
Richland is preparing to launch final testing of a new utility metering system prior to its rollout in 2022, ending the need for dedicated meter readers to visit the 27,000 homes and businesses throughout the city.Officials hope to have new electric and water meters installed in most locations by the...
J. Clay SellJ. Clay Sell had two main goals when he visited the Tri-Cities in October to participate in Energy Northwest’s annual conference in Kennewick.Sell, chief executive officer of X-energy, came to discuss a government-backed partnership that will bring a fourth-generation nuclear plant to the Energy Northwest campus north Richland.Sell...
An Oregon-based environmental nonprofit is challenging the wisdom of fighting climate change with small modular nuclear reactors near the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.The Columbia Riverkeeper, based in Hood River, said building new nuclear-powered plants at the Energy Northwest complex north of Richland is a threat to the Columbia River, which it...
Bob SchuetzCEOEnergy NorthwestBob Schuetz Number of employees you oversee: 1,000 +Brief background of your organization:Energy Northwest is a joint operating agency of Washington state, comprised of 27 public power member utilities from across the state, serving more than 1.5 million customers.Energy Northwest owns and operates a diverse mix of 100%...
Ostrom Mushroom Farms receives $102K REA rebateOstrom Mushroom Farms received a $102,000 rebate from Benton Rural Electric Association for embracing energy-saving technology at its Sunnyside facility.Ostrom installed LED lighting, water-cooled chiller equipment and variable frequency drives on air handlers, cooling tower fans, boiler fans and composting tunnel and bunker fans...
The 2020 Toyko Olympics were billed as the “Hydrogen Olympics.”Then along came Covid-19 and sporting events worldwide were put on hold. The summer games were delayed until 2021. Postponing the games cost Japan billions and thwarted its efforts to showcase the Japanese “green growth” strategies.Japan, like the United States, plans...
