CEO, Energy NorthwestBrad SawatzkeNumber of employees you oversee: 1,000+Brief background of your business: 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%...
By Markus Stauffer and Richard GerlitzThe Horse Heaven Hills wind farm project planned by Scout Clean Energy (Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business, May 2020) would stretch along 24 miles of ridgeline from south of the Tri-Cities at Jump-Off Joe Butte to near Benton City.As many as 212 wind turbines would...
As I have said in the past and will continue to vocalize in our nation’s capital: Hydropower is truly the lifeblood of the Pacific Northwest. From the Grand Coulee Dam, the largest power producing hydroelectric dam in North America, to the dams along the Columbia and Snake rivers, Central Washington...
Richland plant set to begin operating new 11,000-square-foot scrap uranium recovery facility A $20 million facility is set to open before the end ofthe year at Richland’s Framatome, coinciding with the nuclear fuelmanufacturing company’s 50th anniversary in town. “The longevity of the Richland facility illustrates ouremployees’ commitment to innovation and...
Inthe coming decade, investors are betting that hydrogen will become a prominentfuel that can eliminate carbon dioxide discharges from the vehicles it energizes.Accordingto the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the transportation sector hasdominated the growth in U.S. carbon dioxide emissions since 1990, accountingfor 69 percent of the total increase. Itis important...
By Andrew KirkWith a nuclear reservation, national laboratory and cutting-edge agricultural processing in the Tri-Cities’ backyard, Jeff Leskovar expected Mitsubishi’s plug-in hybrid electric vehicle Outlander would be well received.“We thought they’d bepopular with Hanford scientists, a high-tech product like this,” he said. “Butwe sell a lot of them to Spokane.”Almost...
Natural gas customers in Washington started seeing higherenergy bills beginning Nov. 1 due in part to last winter’s colder temperaturesand a 2018 gas pipeline explosion in British Columbia.The state Utilities and Transportation Commission recentlyapproved rate adjustments ranging from 4 percent to 15 percent for Avista,Cascade Natural Gas, NW Natural and...
General Manager/Executive Vice President of Benton Rural Electric AssociationMichael BradshawNumber of employees you oversee: 72 Brief background aboutyour electric cooperative:Benton REA is a not-for-profit, electric cooperativethat has been providing the people of Benton, Yakima and Lewis counties withhigh-quality, reliable service since 1937. Our structure of being owned andcontrolled by the...
By Todd MyersShould Washington state risk 11 years of salmon recovery funding on something scientists believe will do little to increase salmon populations? How about eliminating electricity generation equivalent to every solar panel and wind turbine in Washington state? Essentially,those arguing we need to destroy the Snake River dams suggest...
Mission Support Allianceknows finding ways to reduce energy consumption at the Hanford site helpsshrink the site’s carbon footprint and reduce costs.MSA, the U.S. Departmentof Energy contractor, helps DOE and its contractors with energy management andequipment upgrades. MSA’s energy managementteam works with site contractors, often in the planning phase of theirprojects,...
