energy

For years, the Yakama Nation has fought to protect a sacred area in southcentral Washington from development. They say a proposed energy storage project will destroy this area, known as “mother of all roots.”

An old aluminum smelter has sat abandoned on the Columbia River’s banks for two decades. Now, energy developers could help fast-track part of the cleanup.

Business leaders in the Tri-Cities said it’s getting harder to bring new, large developments to town because there isn’t enough power to go around.

Bigger solar farms could make their way into Yakima County. Commissioners are considering updates that would allow solar panels on specific agricultural land.

A hydro project that could store enough energy to power most homes in Seattle just got the go-ahead from the federal government. Developers say it will help the Northwest meet its carbon-free energy goals.

A lab in Richland, Washington, has started testing large-scale batteries that could one day help store energy and make the electrical grid more reliable.

A plan to add back-up power to a hospital in south-central Washington could be back on track. A judge ordered the federal government to give back grants to hundreds of projects that reduce natural disaster risks.

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright stopped by one of the Lower Snake River dams and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory on a recent Tri-Cities tour.

Power outages in parts of Washington can last for days at a time. So, leaders with the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation got a state grant to help build microgrids.

Washington state regulators have recommended striking dozens of planned wind turbines from a massive wind farm outside the Tri-Cities to avoid viable ferruginous hawk nests in the middle of project.