The Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Jon Wellinghoff, submitted his resignation via letter to President Barack Obama on May 29^th, stating that he will stay in his position until a new commissioner is confirmed.

Seven years ago, Washington voters made the smart choice to invest in the state by supporting renewable energy. Washington voters passed Initiative 937, which created a clean energy standard. The law requires the state’s large electric utilities to incrementally increase their electricity from new renewable resources to 15 percent by 2020.

Salem, OR – A new report issued today on Earth Day by the region’s leading renewable energy advocacy organization shows that the amount of investment in renewable energy manufacturing and projects in Oregon now totals over $9 billion. Renewable Northwest Project (RNP) analyzed 2012 state economic development data and found that the $9 billion of cumulative investment in the state has resulted in a total of 3,200 MW’s of clean power generation, contributing over $79 million in cumulative public revenue to local communities. It is also estimated that over 4,600 jobs have been created in the renewable energy industry.

Portland, Ore. -The region’s leading renewable energy advocacy group, Renewable Northwest Project (RNP), announced today that its office has been LEED® Gold certified. The LEED rating system, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), is the foremost program for buildings, homes and communities that are designed, constructed, maintained and operated for improved environmental and human health performance.

Most companies on the Fortune 100 list have adopted policies to increase their use of renewable energy. The reason is simple: Renewable energy is good business. America’s largest, most-successful businesses know that renewable energy diversifies their energy supplies, which, among other benefits, can smooth out the volatile price-swings common among traditional energy sources. Renewables also reduce companies’ long-term operating costs.

Portland, Ore. - The region’s leading renewable energy advocacy group, Renewable Northwest Project, today announced that Varner Seaman has joined the group in the role of Policy Director.  In this position, he will work to advance policies for renewable energy in the Northwest with key decision makers.

February 19, 2013 - Clean energy advocates and leaders from across the West are urging policymakers to enact policies and support investments in renewable energy and efficiency that would modernize our electric system while slashing greenhouse gas emissions.

Proposed EIM Marks Positive Step for Renewables

In an announcement this morning, PacifiCorp and the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) have taken the first steps towards creating a real-time energy imbalance market (EIM).

Portland, Ore. – The region's leading renewable energy advocacy organization today welcomed the announcement by US Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu of Bill Drummond as the new Bonneville Power Administrator. BPA is a federal agency that markets 40% of the region's power and owns and operates over 70% of the region's transmission.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Thursday upheld its year-ago ruling that found that the Bonneville Power Administration was discriminating against wind power produces in its plan to require wind farms to power down during times of oversupply of power due to high water runoff.

Gov. John Kitzhaber on Monday released the final version of his 10-Year Energy Action Plan, an outline for energy policy and focus for Oregon that sets out to improve energy efficiency across the state, boost clean energy development and accelerate the transition to a cleaner transportation system.

Energy is the issue of our time. No other issue will have a greater impact on our future, our air quality, our water resources, our economy, and our quality of life.

PORTLAND, Ore. - Members of one segment of the American workforce -- veterans -- are speaking out on behalf of wind energy development, in Oregon and across the country.

BOISE, Idaho – November 19, 2012 (NYSE MKT: HTM; TSX: GTH) U.S. Geothermal Inc., a leading renewable energy company focused on the development, production and sale of electricity from geothermal energy, announced today that on November 16, 2012 its wholly owned subsidiary, USG Oregon LLC, achieved commercial operation at the Neal Hot Springs project located near Vale, Oregon.

THERE has been a lot of debate about the wisdom of government investment in clean energy. A guest column by Todd Myers [“Subsidizing green industry is like propping up a kid’s lemonade stand,” Opinion, Oct. 11] likened it to parents paying for all the lemons and sugar for their kid’s lemonade stand, and getting nothing in return. But in Washington, the actual examples of government investment in clean energy have delivered tangible economic and environmental benefits, especially to rural areas.

"Last Tuesday morning, wind farms plugged into the Bonneville Power Administration's transmission network hit a new generation record of 4,289 megawatts. In fact, earlier the same morning, wind farms exceeded the output of the federal hydroelectric system -- the first time that wind energy surpassed water energy in the region."

Electric companies lauded by NW Energy Coalition for efficiencies achieved

Regional electricity providers Avista Utilities and Inland Power & Light Co., both of Spokane, have recorded impressive accomplishments during the first reporting period for Washington's clean energy law, Initiative 937, says a primary sponsor of the law voters passed in 2006.

NaturEner USA has given Toole and Glacier Counties, and the State of Montana, millions of reasons to celebrate. And when the tax bills go out again next month, there will be millions more coming into county and state coffers thanks to NaturEner’s nearly $1 billion investment in the wind energy business in north central Montana.

An Oregonian editorial recently asked: Why not let the wind tax credit expire? (Aug. 28)

The answer: Letting the wind energy production tax credit die will hurt our economy, environment, energy needs and security at the local, state and national levels.

Portland, Ore. (September 05, 2012) - Renewable Northwest Project (RNP), a leading regional non-profit advocacy group, today announced the hire of a new staff member.

Michael O'Brien joined Renewable Northwest Project as a Policy Associate, bringing a depth of experience to the organization's policy team. O'Brien will analyze renewable energy and siting policy as well as support Renewable Northwest Project's solar policy development in the Pacific Northwest.

In 1927, long before President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his Rural Electrification Administration (REA) brought electricity to the countryside, Marcellus Jacobs from eastern Montana invented the three-bladed wind turbine for electricity production.

Portland, Ore. (June 13, 2012) - Renewable Northwest Project (RNP), the region’s leading renewable energy advocacy group, today announced the hire of a new staff member.

Dina Dubson joined Renewable Northwest Project as Staff Counsel, bringing added talent to the organization’s policy team. Dubson will advocate for clean energy in state and federal regulatory proceedings.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the first in a series of articles about businesses and industries introduced or with significant growth in northcentral Montana in the past decade.

 Next month the Tribune looks at the Great Falls operations of the medical processing company, Centene.

A decade ago wind energy proposals in Montana were working to attract investors.

BOISE, IDAHO, May 29, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- U.S. Geothermal Inc. CA:GTH 0.00% (nyse mkt:HTM) HTM +5.56% , a leading renewable energy company focused on the development, production and sale of electricity from geothermal energy, today announced that its construction contractor has provided a notice of mechanical completion for the first of three 7.3 net megawatt, air cooled power plant modules at the Company's Neal Hot Springs project, located in Malheur County, Oregon. The total project is about 90 percent complete with some 65% of the U.S.

Regional partners recently gathered for the Columbia Gorge Community College (CGCC) Partners Summit to discuss and support the school's renowned Renewable Energy Technology (RET) program. The Summit was held on the banks of the great Columbia River at the Maryhill Museum of Art: a regional cultural treasure and unique renewable energy success story.

Renewable energy resources are an important part of Washington’s past, and are demonstrating new benefits that can positively shape our future economy, communities and environment.

Taxpayers deserve the truth about energy sources and policies that shape how they are used.

Portland, Ore. (April 30, 2012) – This week, Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) issued wind power curtailments, a policy the Federal Energy Regularly Commission previously rejected in a December 7, 2011 ruling. Rachel Shimshak, executive director of non-profit advocacy group Renewable Northwest Project, issued this statement:

Maryhill Museum of Art, with its hybrid of serious museum and mansion of oddities, is adding another dimension to its lofty perch high above the Columbia River Gorge.

Whether or not the 450-mile, 500kv Mountain States Transmission Intertie — MSTI — line is built, one fresh idea that has come out of the process is the creation of a citizens-based study group to help the average person’s voice be heard.

SolarCity: leading the industry through innovation

RNP is pleased to share exciting news about one of our members: FastCompany magazine named SolarCity one of the World's Most Innovative Companies of 2012, ranking it among the top ten, alongside global innovators like Google, Amazon and Apple.

Portland, Ore. -- Following today’s Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) reciprocity tariff filing and the related December 7, 2011 Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) order rejecting BPA’s  “Environmental Redispatch and No Negative Pricing policy,” Rachel Shimshak, executive director of non-profit advocacy group Renewable Northwest Project, issued this statement:

While we appreciate Bonneville’s engagement with the region on this issue, we disagree that its filing today satisfies the requirements of the unanimous December 7 FERC order.

Montana voters have spoken, and they are overwhelmingly in favor of renewable energy.

Two impartial polls, one conducted in Montana and another in six Western states, illustrate the extent to which Western voters support renewable energy development and policies.

Strong winds generated 4,000 megawatts onto the Bonneville Power Administration’s transmission grid on a single day this month. That’s as much as four nuclear power plants.

Portland, Ore. - Wind turbines in the Bonneville Power Administration’s transmission grid generated over 4,000 megawatts for the first time on Sunday, March 11, producing nearly twice as much energy as that generated by coal, gas and nuclear plants connected to BPA’s system at that time.

The Montana Public Service Commission and Northwestern Energy have recently come together to create a real “win-win” for clean wind energy and Montana’s electricity rate payers.

WASHINGTON, DC, March 5, 2012–They are a family that’s becoming increasingly common in the U.S. these days: The American wind power family.

BELLEVUE, Wash. (Feb. 29, 2012) – Washington’s newest and largest wind farm – the Lower Snake River Wind Facility-Phase I – today began commercial operations, providing Puget Sound Energy’s 1.1 million electric customers with more renewable, emissions-free power.

Some Washington state lawmakers want to scale-back the state's voter-approved renewable energy targets in the name of reducing the burden on utility ratepayers at a time of continued high unemployment.

OLYMPIA – Washington’s renewable energy sector today announced a milestone in economic development for the state. Capital investment to date in Washington wind, solar, geothermal and biomass has exceeded $7.9 billion, according to data released today by Renewable Northwest Project, a regional nonprofit advocacy group.

"There are more than 5,000 solar companies in the U.S.," says SolarCity CEO Lyndon Rive. "Many of these companies will go out of business." (Paging Solyndra!) But last year, SolarCity expanded to the East Coast and added 12,000 projects, all without a dollar of government funding.

HOUSTON, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Owners of wind farms in the Pacific Northwest objected to a cost-sharing proposal suggested by the Bonneville Power Administration to settle last year's dispute over the curtailment of wind generation, according to a letter sent on Monday to U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu.

Executives with Iberdrola Renewables, PacifiCorp, NextEra Energy and others called BPA's idea a "clear circumvention of the FERC order to file an open access transmission tariff," in the letter to Chu.

“Steady wind energy polices are paying off.” This might well be the subheading to the recent flurry of articles detailing new wind energy development in Montana. In case you missed the good news, here are the highlights:

"There is no conclusive evidence so far that wind turbines are responsible for health problems ranging from balance problems to diabetes, an independent panel of health experts reports.

BOSTON - An independent panel of experts studying potential health impacts of wind turbines has issued its report, Wind Turbine Health Impact Study: Report of the Independent Expert Panel. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) convened the panel in collaboration with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH). The panel was composed of physicians and scientists with broad expertise in areas including acoustical noise/infrasound, public health, sleep disturbance, mechanical engineering, epidemiology, and neuroscience.

Advocate Praises Health Department, Underscores Benefits of Renewable Energy

On January 3, 2012, the Oregon Public Health Division released its draft Wind Energy Health Impact Assessment (HIA). Renewable Northwest Project has been following the HIA process from its onset. The draft report’s overall findings refute concerns about wind farms and health impacts and reinforce our understanding of the many health, economic and environmental benefits wind farms bring to Oregon communities.

When you don't have the facts or the law on your side, distract them with fear and emotion. That seems to be the attitude by some toward the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's order directing the Bonneville Power Administration to halt discriminatory practices on its electric transmission system (Scott Corwin, In My Opinion, Dec. 21). The FERC order said, in essence, that BPA may not unduly discriminate against non-federal electricity generation in order to gain an economic advantage for its own generation. 

Uncle Sam took up the challenge in the year of '33

He said, "Roll along Columbia. You can ramble to the sea,

But river while you're ramblin' you can do some work for me."

While we appreciate attention toward the issue of energy supply, the Herald's editorial on Dec. 12, "Paying wind farms for zip FERC's idea of level playing field," leaves out some key points.

Federal energy regulators told the Bonneville Power Administration Wednesday that it can no longer discriminate against wind farm owners by cutting off their transmission during periods of excess electricity generation in the region.

SNL Financial recently posted an article by energy reporter Lisa Cohn, who covered RNP's response to inaccurate media coverage of clean energy jobs in Oregon. By highlighting corrective data and more, Cohn illuminates Oregon's clean energy economy success story. Read the article below, or visit SNL's website and register as a subscriber to comment on the blog post.

"A report released this week by Renewable Northwest Project solidifies the region's leadership in green power purchases, showing that even during tough economic times Northwest consumers are willing to pay a little extra to support renewable energy.

Portland, Ore. (November 14, 2011)— As national leaders in green power convene for the annual Renewable Energy Markets Conference in San Francisco, Renewable Northwest Project - a leading advocate for renewable energy - released its eleventh annual report on retail green power programs in the Northwest. The report indicates that customer participation in voluntary green power programs increased 8.5% in 2010, demonstrating a continued trend of growing consumer preference for renewable energy, despite sustained recession conditions.

RICHLAND, Wash. – A new report (PDF) from the American Wind Energy Association ranks Washington No. 6 and Oregon No. 7 in wind energy installations though the third quarter of this year. The states rank high even though neither Oregon nor Washington added or expanded any wind projects during the past three months.

It seems almost everyone loves small-scale renewable energy, the rooftop solar panels and backyard wind turbines that help power residential homes.

Sure, some may scoff at the desire to take control of your own energy consumption. But by and large, most people will see it as your right to produce what you use. “More power to you” they’ll say, literally.

Big Sky, MT. (September 26, 2011) — Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer was today honored by Renewable Northwest Project - a leading non-profit regional advocacy group - for his leadership in supporting Montana’s generous endowment of renewable energy. The Governor received this recognition at the Western Wind and Transmission Leadership Summit in Big Sky, along with a custom bolo tie featuring iconic Montana designs.

A new report, Western Grid 2050: Contrasting Futures, Contrasting Fortunes, examines two very different energy investment pathways facing the 11 western states: business-as-usual or a new clean energy trajectory. The report finds that with intentional policymaking and planning today, the West can successfully transition to a clean energy economy that will deliver job, environmental and public health benefits for decades to come.

Portland, Ore. -- The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), yesterday in its Final Record of Decision (ROD), announced its fiscal year 2012-2013 rates for power, transmission and renewable energy integration, which take effect beginning October 1, 2011. Renewable Northwest Project, a non-profit renewable energy advocacy organization, responded with perspective on how these rates will affect the regional renewable energy market.

"I’m writing regarding the recent editorial about eminent domain and the struggles over power lines. The editorial made some factual errors that need to be addressed.

First, let’s address the current controversy over siting of two power lines, the Mountain States Intertie and the Montana Alberta Tie line. Each of these lines has its own particular issues which are varied and complex.

WASHINGTON — Montana boasts one of the highest concentrations of "green" jobs, but the growth of that environmentally friendly sector has been slower than the national average, a new report concludes. 

Salem, Ore. (June 24, 2011) -- Renewable Northwest Project (RNP) – a non-profit regional advocacy group – issued the following press statement today in response to the Oregon legislature’s passage of House Bill 3672, which revised the state's Business Energy Tax Credit (BETC) incentive program.

Portland, Ore. -- Renewable Northwest Project (RNP) – a non-profit regional advocacy group – issued the following statement today to support a complaint filed by a coalition of Northwest energy companies to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in response to the Bonneville Power Administration’s (BPA) “Environmental Redispatch” policy to over-generation.

BOISE, ID – The Shoshone-Paiute Tribes announced its support for the proposed China Mountain Wind Project in the Twin Falls County, Idaho and Elko County, Nevada region. The project, being developed by China Mountain Wind, LLC, a subsidiary of RES America Developments Inc. and NV Energy, will bring renewable energy, new job creation and economic benefits to the area.

"The Oregon Business Energy Tax Credit program, accustomed to having hundreds of millions of dollars worth of tax credits to issue each year, may soon have to share just $10 million with a handful of other programs. 

U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Oregon, joined the American Wind Energy Association and others today in accusing the Bonneville Power Administration of discriminating against wind power at a time it needs help to expand, and failing to adopt strategies identified in a 2007 report on integrating wind power into the Northwest energy grid.

SoloPower, Inc., a California-based manufacturer of flexible, thin film solar cells and modules, announced that it has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with the City of Portland to locate a high volume manufacturing facility in Portland.

"The manager of most of the electricity in the Pacific Northwest is running such a surplus of power from hydroelectric dams that it put wind farms on notice Friday that they may be shut down as early as this weekend. The Bonneville Power Administration has more than enough electricity during a cold, wet spring that has created a big surge in river flows where hydroelectric dams are located. The agency responded by announcing its intentions to curtail wind power until the grid has more capacity, in a move likely to cost the industry millions of dollars."

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) May 04, 2011 - San Francisco, California based NaturEner USA, LLC, a renewable energy company, announced today the commencement of operations for its NaturEner Operations Center, a fully enabled, state-of-the-art, 24/7, real-time desk located in NaturEner’s San Francisco Headquarters, with the purpose of supporting both commercial and operational functions for NaturEner’s operating projects.

"The Bonneville Power Administration has put the breaks on a plan to halt energy production from wind farms when water levels in the federal hydropower system are high. Opponents to the plan, including Sen. Jeff Merkley and Rep. Earl Blumenauer, Oregon democrats, say it has the power to upend renewable energy development in the Northwest and unfairly discriminates against wind-energy generators."

Great Falls, Montana – New research has confirmed unique features of the Montana wind resource in providing solutions for the Pacific Northwest power market.

MILPITAS– Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. today signed SBX1 2, which requires one-third of the state’s electricity to come from renewable sources. The legislation increases California’s current 20 percent renewables portfolio standard target in 2010 to a 33 percent renewables portfolio standard by December 31, 2020.

ReCharge, an international industry news outlet, ran an article highlighting Oregon's renewable energy investment success story in the April 8th issue. Reporter Benjamin Romano recently traveled to Portland to attend an RNP press conference during which the $5.4 billion landmark news was detailed. Normally, readers must subscribe to the publication to access ReCharge articles, but the editor has graciously allowed RNP to post a PDF of Romano's article to our website.

SNL Financial's Blog posted an article on Monday, April 4, 2011 by energy reporter Lisa Cohn on Oregon's business energy tax credit (BETC).  Read the article below, or visit SNL's website and register as a subscriber to comment on the blog post.