clean energy Archives - Northwest Public Broadcasting

Inslee talks clean energy jobs, Malden rebuild and battling climate change

By Mary Ellen Pitney May 25, 2023

Washington Governor Jay Inslee speaking outdoors with the Mayor of Malden, Ted Maxwell.

Washington Governor Jay Inslee visited Washington State University's Pullman campus on Thursday. He spoke with Northwest Public Broadcasting's Mary Ellen Pitney on climate-related issues including building more electric car charging stations, helping towns become fire resistant and recovery efforts in Malden, three years after that Labor Day fire. Read More

Retired Alaska Airlines turboprop to get new life as ‘world’s largest’ hydrogen-powered plane

By Tom Banse May 5, 2023

Tom Banse / NW News Network Elected officials and corporate leaders gathered in a Paine Field hangar to celebrate the handover of a retired Alaska Airlines Q400 turboprop, which will be converted to hydrogen-electric propulsion over the next year

Alaska Airlines ceremonially handed over a surplus turboprop airliner on Monday to a company that aims to turn it into the largest hydrogen-powered plane yet to fly. Continue Reading Retired Alaska Airlines turboprop Read More

Washington’s McMorris Rodgers pushing for more hydropower, questioning ‘Big Tech’

By Lauren Paterson March 7, 2023

Cathy McMorris Rodgers sits behind a brown podium before a blue curtain in a maroon jacket in Washington D.C.

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., leads the panel during an organizational meeting for the 118th Congress, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023.… Continue Reading Read More

New legislation takes aim at blinking lights on Washington wind turbines

By Dori Luzzo Gilmour January 17, 2023

Flikr Creative Commons Roberta Schonborg Listen (Runtime 1:11) Read A new clean energy project proposal that includes the construction of hundreds of wind turbines in the Columbia Basin, is facing… Continue Reading New Read More

Clean energy project proposal in the Columbia Basin generates controversy and support

By Dori Luzzo Gilmour January 12, 2023

Driving a long gravel road on a tour of the Horse Heaven Hills. Fallow fields and wheat with mountains in the distance. (Credit: Dori Luzzo Gilmour / NWPB) Listen (Runtime… Continue Reading Clean energy project Read More

How The U.S. Could Halve Climate Emissions By 2030

By NPR News April 18, 2021

September 28, 2016 - Workers with Zilla Rack install PV modules on two racks just north of the NREL parking garage. The first row modules are part of a project called the Regional Test Centers (RTCs), small demonstration systems for PV industry to help get some initial performance validation and bankability study from the national labs.. The PV modules in the second row are part of a new DOE program called PV Lifetime. The intent is to study with high accuracy the initial degradation of PV modules, and to make all of the data publicly available. (Photo by Dennis Schroeder / NREL)

Next week, President Biden will announce a number that could shape the rest of his presidency: a new goal to cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. The announcement marks the country's renewed commitment to the Paris accord, the international climate change agreement that former President Trump withdrew from. Read More

Energy Secretary Granholm: Texas Outages Show Need For Changes To U.S. Power Systems

By NPR News February 26, 2021

Jennifer Granholm is sworn in as energy secretary Thursday. Granholm told NPR that pivoting to a clean energy economy could ensure a dependable grid and help create jobs. Andrew Harnik/AP

Newly confirmed Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm seized on the bruising winter weather that left millions of Texans without heat and electricity last week to press for reform of the state's power systems, arguing that pivoting to a clean energy economy can ensure a dependable grid and help create jobs. Read More

No, Texas Blackouts Weren’t Caused By Wind And Solar Energy Failure. Here’s What Really Happened

By NPR News February 18, 2021

Snow covers the ground in Waco, Texas, on Feb. 17. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has blamed renewable energy sources for the blackouts that have hit the state. In fact, they were caused by a systemwide failure across all energy sources. Matthew Busch/AFP via Getty Images

The focus on windmills ignores the evident fact that — as Abbott acknowledged on local TV — every kind of power generation fell short in this storm. In fact, significantly more natural gas and coal went offline than renewables. But that doesn't suggest fossil fuels were uniquely to blame either — they were responsible for more production, so it's no surprise they were the Read More

Northwest Clean-Energy Advocates Eye Pumped Hydro To Fill Gaps, With Tribes Noting Concerns

By Courtney Flatt July 24, 2020

The Goldendale Energy Storage Project would be built just outside Goldendale in Klickitat County. If built, it would be the largest pumped storage facility in the Northwest. The lower reservoir is proposed in the flat area below this image, by John Day Dam on the Columbia River. Courtesy of Rye Development

Many states – including Oregon and Washington – have set renewable energy goals. But, there’s a problem. The wind isn’t always blowing, and the sun isn’t always shining. That’s why wind and solar power are variable, or intermittent. Enter pumped hydro. It's not a new technology, but it is gaining more interest regionally. Read More