The Council recently convened a three-person panel of leading energy planning and analysis experts to review its Regional Portfolio Model (RPM). RPM is the primary analytical modeling tool that Council staff uses to perform cost and risk analyses of resource
Wind power and developments outside the Northwest are changing the character of the Northwest electricity system, but the power supply will remain adequate over the next five years with the addition of new generation and/or additional energy-efficiency equal to the
The ubiquitous compact fluorescent bulb, which played a major role in improving the efficiency of electricity use and lowering consumers’ bills in the Northwest, was an emerging technology just 20 years ago. Today the hunt for new technologies must continue
In 2011, the Pacific Northwest set a new annual record for energy efficiency improvements -- and did so for one-fourth the cost of power from the most efficient new generating plants, according to a Council survey of the region’s electric
Rhonda Whiting, a Montana member and vice chair of the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, assumed the chairmanship of the four-state energy and fish and wildlife planning agency this month, taking the place of Oregon member Joan Dukes who resigned
Demand for electricity in the Northwest continues to recover from the recession of 2008, growing slowly but steadily by about 1.2 percent per year over last two years, according to an analysis by the Council. The Council analysis also shows
The Council has recommended construction of a new hatchery to boost production of Snake River sockeye salmon, an endangered species, and continue a long-term effort to rebuild the population to naturally spawning, self-sustaining levels.
The growth in electricity demand from the big computer data centers that store your Facebook posts and help you search the Internet with Google or utilize Apple’s "cloud" storage is growing as anticipated in the Northwest, according to an analysis
Charlie Black is the new Director of Power Planning at the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, Chair Joan Dukes announced today. Black has 30 years’ experience working with or for Northwest utilities in power resource planning, acquisition, risk management, and
The Council is revising upward its estimate of how much power plug-in electric vehicles will use in the future, in light of anticipated consumer response to high gasoline prices and technological advances that allow plug-in electric vehicles to travel increasingly
