Tagged: Energy

Gov. John Kitzhaber said Thursday that power customers could play a bigger role in the state's clean energy future. He spoke at the Northwest Smart Grid Summit in Portland.

The governor says a smarter power grid can help Oregon reach his 10 year goals for renewable energy and energy efficiency.

For example, Kitzhaber says, projects are underway to install two way electric meters in people’s homes. The meters will allow utilities to tell their customers when and where they're using the most energy. That information could prompt customers to reduce their energy use to save money.

Hundreds of people gathered at Portland's Pioneer Square today to protest coal export projects in the Northwest. Cassandra Profita reports.

The Department of Energy says it’s considering whether to require a Hanford contractor to pay back a $15 million bonus. A new federal report says the bonus was for mixing tanks that managers have since been unable to prove are up to nuclear standards. Correspondent Anna King reports.

Wind farms along the Columbia River were asked to shut down for about 10 hours over the weekend. For the second year in a row, spring rain and snowmelt have led to an oversupply of hydropower on the Columbia River. Amelia Templeton reports.

If you thought the great dam building era of the Northwest was long over, you might be mistaken. But we're not talking about damming rivers here. This is about building long earthen dams to make new off-stream hydropower reservoirs. They're being designed to act as giant batteries and shock absorbers for the electric grid. Correspondent Tom Banse explains.

The utility Energy Northwest is launching a new TV ad campaign to improve the image of nuclear power. But as correspondent Anna King reports, the ads touting nuclear energy as green might be a tough sell.

Energy Northwest operates the only commercial nuclear power plant in the region. It’s called the Columbia Generating Station in Richland.

The Port of Coos Bay is negotiating with three companies interested in building a coal export facility on Oregon’s South Coast. Through interviews and records requests, EarthFix has learned the identities of two companies involved in the deal. Amelia Templeton reports.