With over 1.9 million residents, Idaho is the country’s 13th least populous state but, stretching over 82 thousand square miles of mountainous land, it is also the 14th largest. Idaho is known for its rugged, beautiful terrain. Its nickname, The Gem State, speaks to the fact that almost every known type of gem has been found in Idaho.
Over the past century, Idaho’s climate has warmed, resulting in challenges. Snowpack melts earlier in the season, creating smaller streams during the summer. The meltwater is currently used for personal, commercial, and agricultural purposes, as well as for hydropower electricity generation. Its reduction is therefore extremely alarming. The water is warmer, as well, which threatens the fish who inhabit them.
An increase in frequency and severity of both droughts and wildfires coincides with a warming climate. Idaho is projected to see a 110% increase in drought threat by 2050. The state is the biggest producer of both trout and potatoes (2/3 of the potatoes in the US come from Idaho), and climate change leaves these industries extremely vulnerable.
According to NOAA’s State Climate Summary for Idaho (2022), temperatures in Idaho have risen 2 degrees (F) since the beginning of the century, and as temperatures warm the state will face intensified droughts, more frequent and severe wildfires, and more winter and spring precipitation falling as rain instead of snow, increasing flood risk.
While Idaho’s gems are plentiful, its fossil fuel resources are not. Thanks in part to this discrepancy, Idaho has harnessed its abundant renewable energy potential. In 2023, renewable energy sources generated 68% of Idaho’s electricity, the fifth highest for any state. Most of this was hydropower, which contributed 43% of generation in 2023. 15% was wind, with the state’s largest wind farm opening in 2024, 7% was solar, and 3% was biomass. While geothermal was less than 1% in 2023, Idaho has among the highest geothermal potential in the nation, due to its volcanic landscape and hot springs.
Although high, the contribution of renewables has declined. In 2018, 81% of Idaho’s generated electricity came from renewable resources, the second highest proportion in the country after Vermont. That year, hydropower contributed 60% of the state’s electricity generation. Hydropower generation has been decreasing since 2012, due to drought and increased generation from other renewables.
Despite Idaho’s frigid winters, the state is in the lowest third of natural gas consumption per capita. The state has no coal production, though small amounts of coal are shipped in from other states and consumed by residents. While Idaho has no Renewable Portfolio Standard, Idaho Power, the state’s largest electricity provider, nonetheless aims to transition to 100% clean energy by 2045.
The debate in Idaho over whether or not climate change should be taught in schools has now become notorious. After three years of lobbying by educators and scientists a conservative legislature added climate change to the middle and high-school science curriculum in 2018. However, just a few months later, the state chose not to renew Idaho’s rules and regulations, reigniting the debate. Meanwhile, the majority of residents agree that schools should teach about global warming. According to a 2020 poll, 69% of Idaho voters believe climate change is happening.
In 2016, Boise, Idaho’s largest city, set a multi-faceted climate action plan in motion including 100% renewable energy targets for municipal operations by 2030 and city-wide by 2035. In 2019, two weeks after being sworn in as the 33rd governor of Idaho, Republican Brad Little broke with national party leaders committing unequivocally to the reality of climate change.
In 2022, however, Brad Little called on Biden to rescind a climate disclosure proposal, citing “federal overreach.” Idaho still does not have a statewide Climate Action Plan or a Renewable Portfolio Standard, but the cities of Moscow and McCall have joined Boise in developing their own climate and resilience plans.
In 2021, the University of Idaho’s McClure Center for Public Policy Research launched The Idaho Climate-Economy Impacts Assessment. Developed in collaboration with leaders from Idaho business, nonprofit, and higher education institutions, representatives from Idaho communities, and local, state, federal and tribal governments, the Assessment connects scientific research on Idaho’s changing climate with economic analysis of various sectors including agriculture, energy, health, infrastructure, land and tourism. The Key Findings reveal how Idaho’s economy is inextricably linked with its changing climate, including changes in crop yields, energy resources, and health.
CREDIT: KPVI NEWS
