Clean Energy Blog
Stay up to date on the latest news related to clean energy in our region and beyond.
Idaho Falls Power Celebrates New Peaking Plant and 125 Years of Service
Caterpillar (CAT®) generators, Idaho Falls Power photo Last week, Idaho Falls Power celebrated the formal launch of its new natural gas peaking generation plant. This represents a major milestone in the community-owned utility's 125-year legacy of reliable, affordable...
TerraPower Gets Green Light on Final Safety Review to Build New Reactor
A mockup of a fuel bundle for TerraPower’s Natrium reactor. (TerraPower Photo) Nuclear power company TerraPower has passed the Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff’s final safety evaluation for a permit to build a reactor in Wyoming. The Washington-based company backed...
Department of Energy Renames NREL ‘National Laboratory of the Rockies’
Photo by Werner Slocum, NREL 80159 According to the news release from the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has been renamed the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR), with the new name reflects the laboratory's expanding...
NREL Studying if Seaweed Could be Mined for Critical Minerals
A team searches for seaweed samples on the shore of Moira Bay, Alaska. Photo by Stefanie Van Wychen, NREL In the spring, NREL chemist Stefanie Van Wychen and a team of five departed Juneau, Alaska, and flew to Ketchikan, a city known for its “feisty salmon,”...
Zap Energy’s Next Generation Device Hits New Milestone
Zap Energy’s FuZE-Q fusion device. (Zap Photo) Zap Energy recently announced that its next generation device named the Fusion Z-pinch Experiment 3, or FuZE-3, has now achieved plasmas with electron pressures as high as 830 megapascals (MPa), or 1.6 gigapascals (GPa)...
CEWD Announces New Get Into Energy Scholarship Fund
The Center for Energy Workforce Development (CEWD), in partnership with Scholarship America, recently announced the creation of the Get Into Energy Scholarship Fund, a national initiative designed to expand access to energy careers. The fund aims to grow paths to...
U.S. Now Has a Full Solar Supply Chain
Photo by American Public Power Association on Unsplash According to new data from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), the United States is restoring domestic manufacturing of the entire solar supply chain. With a recent announcement of Corning's new ingot...
Washington Utilities Recognized by American Public Power Association
High-voltage wire tower at dusk The American Public Power Association recently recognized fifteen public power utilities with 2025 Public Power Customer Satisfaction Awards, while fourteen public power utilities have earned a Smart Energy Provider (SEP) designation....
Puget Sound Energy and Heimdall Power Partner on New Pilot Project
Heimdall Power Photo Heimdall Power, headquartered in Norway, and Puget Sound Energy, the largest utility in Washington state, are partnering on a groundbreaking project. The companies announced last week the partnership to install the largest deployment of dynamic...
Commonwealth Fusion Systems Celebrates Delivery of a Key Component
Commonwealth Fusion Systems specialized magnet. CFS photo. Commonwealth Fusion Systems recently received a key component at the campus in Devens, Massachusetts- the first half of the vacuum vessel at the heart of their SPARC machine. The 48-ton half-donut-shaped steel...