Category: Transport_MN WASHINGTON_RENEWABLES

With the transportation sector accounting for 45% of the state’s emissions, it will receive the majority of upcoming investments from the Climate Commitment Act (CCA). We are firmly in the Decisive Decade for transportation decarbonization in Washington.

Avista Utilities has filed a plan with state regulators that describes its goals and progress toward clean energy.

The Spokane-based subsidiary of Avista Corp. filed the Clean Energy Implementation Plan, or CEIP, on Friday with the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission.The plan, required by the state’s Clean Energy Transformation Act, outlines the utility’s actions in transitioning to clean energy through 2025. In the plan, Avista indicated it will serve 80% of its customers in the state with renewable energy beginning in 2022. It will increase that number by 5% every two years.

The week before last, King County Executive Dow Constantine took a swing at natural gas (or, as environmentalists prefer to call it, “fracked gas”) by proposing changes to county building codes that would ban new gas-based heating and water heating in some buildings. Environmentalists applauded the move but acknowledged it was only a tiny step toward addressing emissions.

If you live in Adams County, your Avista utility bill likely occupies a portion of your monthly budget. However, the amount money you set aside for the Spokane-based utility company should begin to shrink starting in 2022. That’s because Avista has put forth an aggressive plan to serve 80% of its customer base with renewable energy starting in 2022.

The Northwest Power and Conservation Council has published its draft 2021 Northwest Power Plan, which will guide the development of the Bonneville Power Administration and the regional power grid through 2027.

A county in Washington state has become the first such jurisdiction in the US to ban new fossil fuel infrastructure, following a lengthy battle over the impact of oil refineries on the local community.

In a vote on Tuesday night, Whatcom county’s council unanimously passed a measure that bans the construction of new refineries, coal-fired power plants and other fossil fuel-related infrastructure. The ordinance also places new restrictions on existing fossil fuel facilities, such as a requirement that any extra planet-heating gases emitted from any expansion be offset.

Gov. Jay Inslee signed a historic climate change legislative package today during a three-stop tour through King County. The governor signed the Climate Commitment Act, environmental justice legislation, a clean fuels standard and bills related to reducing Washington’s single-use plastic waste and hydrofluorocarbon pollution.