Clean Energy Blog
Stay up to date on the latest news related to clean energy in our region and beyond.
BPA Opens New High-Voltage Substation in Oregon
Photo credit: BPA The Bonneville Power Administration energized a new high-voltage substation last week in north-central Oregon to meet increasing demands for electricity and support the interconnection of new generating resources in the Pacific Northwest. According...
Recycling old wind turbines
It’s difficult to recycle a gigantic wind turbine. The blades are built to withstand extreme weather, from scorching desert heat to hurricane-like winds, and that means their life almost always ends in a landfill. In Europe alone, about 3,800 blades will be removed...
Successful battery farm stabilizes local grid
The battery backup Elon Musk built has saved South Australia tens of millions of dollars. Musk’s Australian solar and wind farm powers rural South Australia, with a population density between Wyoming and Alaska. South Australia experienced a near total blackout in...
Centralia tests transition from coal plant closure
The TransAlta coal plant in Centralia will fully close down by 2025, as part of an agreement that will see $55 million invested to help the community prepare for the transition. The Centralia agreement is an example of an unusually well-funded, long-planned...
Energy storage, essential for long-term climate goals
Consolidated Edison and National Grid are experimenting with energy storage in New York. ConEd is in the middle of several major projects to advance the state's distributed grid, while working to add 300 MW of energy storage by 2023. Storage is essential to New York's...
255-MW U.S. hydro portfolio sold to Hull Street Energy
A U.S. private equity firm, Hull Street Energy, has sealed a deal to buy a 255-MW portfolio of 31 hydroelectric facilities from a joint venture between Enel Green Power North America and GE Energy Financial Services. Read more: Enel, GE JV sells 255-MW US hydro...
Solar panels that generate electricity at night?
Researchers from the University of California, Davis explain in a recent paper, published in the journal ACS Photonics, that if you want to create a solar panel that generates electricity at night, you have to create one that operates the exact opposite way solar...
Hydrogen: A green and sustainable energy source?
Hydrogen could be a feasible alternative to fossil fuels because of its affordability and environmental friendliness. It is found throughout the environment, but producing it involves efficiently separating it from other compounds. There are currently a number of ways...
William Westmoreland, new director of PNCECE
William Westmoreland, the new executive director of the Pacific Northwest Center of Excellence for Clean Energy, brings more than 15 years of experience in program development, system integration, and community engagement. William plans to increase awareness of the...
What you should know about hydropower
Hydroelectricity is a form of renewable energy. That means its source — water — is naturally renewing and doesn’t get used up in the process of generating power. Other renewable energy sources include solar power, wind power, biomass, and increasingly, geothermal...