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Energy demand from data centers growing faster than West can supply, experts say
Data centers being rapidly built in the West are becoming an “emerging risk” to electrical grid reliability in the region, according to regional transmission experts. New data centers, which can be built in as little as 18 months, are far outpacing the growth in new electrical energy supply and transmission, according to members of the […]
Oregon Gov. Kotek asks Biden to protect Owyhee Canyonlands if Congress does not
Following nearly five years of negotiations and three attempts by Oregon’s U.S. senators to get federal protection for southeast Oregon’s Owyhee Canyonlands, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek is throwing her hat into the fight. Kotek wrote to President Joe Biden this month, asking that he designate a large share of the 2.5 million-acre canyonlands and a […]
Drought in the West has cost hydropower industry billions in losses in two decades, analysis finds
Persistent drought in the West over the last two decades has limited the amount of electricity that hydropower dams can generate, costing the industry and the region billions of dollars in revenue. The sector lost about 300 million megawatt hours of power generation between 2003 and 2020 due to drought and low water compared with […]
Feds say new investments in Oregon sage grouse habitat paying off, but conservationists disagree
Work to restore imperiled sage grouse habitat in southeast Oregon is moving faster than Tracy Stone-Manning had imagined a year into massive federal investments in landscape restoration. Stone-Manning, director of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, recently visited the agency’s Lakeview, Oregon, field office and federal land near burns to see a spring and a […]
Northwest ecosystems changed dramatically when wolves were nearly exterminated, study finds
Ecosystems in the Northwest were heavily shaped by wolves before they were nearly wiped out of the region, a new study finds. By the 1930s, gray wolves were nearly gone in Oregon and the rest of the West, leading to the multiplication of animals the wolves hunted and creating an imbalance in the environment, researchers […]
A first: Federal government acknowledges dams devastated Northwest tribes and fish stocks
The federal government this week acknowledged that the construction and operation of 11 hydroelectric dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers during the last century has had a devastating effect on eight Northwest tribes and more than a dozen native fish stocks, some of which have gone extinct. The acknowledgement came in a report, “Tribal […]
Northwest tribes, feds dive into work on salmon revival in upper Columbia River
Three Northwest tribes and federal agencies are getting closer to understanding how to revive Chinook and sockeye salmon runs on the upper Columbia River that were once among the most abundant in the world but were decimated by dams over the last century. Leaders from the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, the Coeur d’Alene […]
Northwest’s electricity demand projected to grow 30% in next decade, triple previous estimates
Electricity demand in the Northwest is expected to grow more than 30% in the next decade, or about 5% more than estimated last year and triple the prediction three years ago, industry experts said in a new report. Large data centers, an increase in high-tech manufacturing and growing electrification in homes, buildings and transportation are […]
Despite petitions, federal regulators approve construction on expanded Northwest gas pipeline
Federal regulators are allowing construction to begin on expanding a controversial gas pipeline running through North Idaho, Washington, Oregon and northern California. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued an order Wednesday giving the greenlight to the pipeline’s owner, the Canadian company TC Energy, to begin construction following its denial Tuesday of appeals from conservationists and […]
Wolf deaths have grown ‘alarming’ says Oregon Fish and Wildlife
Oregon’s gray wolf population did not increase last year due in part to a large number of wolves killed by people, causing concern among conservationists and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife officials. The latest Annual Wolf Report found the population remained steady at 178 wolves, marking the first time in eight years that their […]
Power generated from Northwest dams fell last year to lowest level in two decades
Hydropower generated for electricity from Oregon and Washington dams fell to historically low levels last year, and experts expect it could drop further by year’s end. Officials at the U.S. Energy Information Administration recently published data showing that hydropower generation in the Northwest between Oct. 1, 2022, and Sept. 30, 2023, dropped to a 22-year […]
Feds plan to add Northwest, Western state land to potential expansion of solar energy
Millions of acres of federal public land in five Western states, including Idaho, could be opened up to solar energy production. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management announced Wednesday that more land in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming is needed to support rising demand for clean energy and to meet President Joe Biden’s target […]