Every day there is a new article or study proclaiming an urgent need for climate action, with myriad proposed solutions praising renewables as the cure-all.However, the realities of decarbonizing the electric grid are often far more complicated and nuanced than portrayed.Wind, solar and battery storage technologies are important, and deployment...
Research at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has contributed for decades to the region’s leading role in clean energy technology development and deployment. The laboratory, based in Richland, has made advancements in energy storage, energy efficiency, clean energy and chemical production and electricity grid innovation. Today, our region has the potential to...
Most people drive gasoline-powered vehicles. Others have moved over to electric vehicles.But imagine a third option – driving a hydrogen-powered car or truck at a lower cost per mile.That possibility is coming sooner than you think, thanks to a local startup company called STARS Technology Corporation.The Richland-based company is deploying...
Energy faces a new frontier.Demands on data storage and energy to fuel computing power are exponentially ramping up as technology evolves and digital industries follow.The utilities that manage local power grids work around the clock to keep ahead of the curve and meet demand as the Tri-Cities and its surrounding...
When it comes to heavy industry and manufacturing, low-cost electricity and the power sector are foundational to producing competitively priced goods and products.The Tri-City area is increasingly on the radar of companies looking for communities to bring new industries and jobs, the kind of jobs that include good wages and...
The decarbonization of the electric grid seems to be the topic of news stories across the country.The call for replacement of the fossil-fuel infrastructure, that was built over centuries, with clean-energy alternatives is the mantra of this generation.This decarbonization effort will require an unprecedented amount of investment, planning and skill...
When I’m home, like everyone else, I flip on the light switch and expect my lights to come on without giving a thought about if there’s enough electricity available.That’s the way it should be. People are busy and shouldn’t be concerned about there being enough electricity to keep the lights...
Gov. Jay Inslee will seek $10 million in 2023 to establish the Institute for Northwest Energy Futures at Washington State University Tri-Cities.The move fulfills the dream of the late Bob Ferguson, an influential U.S. Department of Energy and Energy Northwest executive who endowed the institute’s first chair with a $500,000...
For decades, Washington has reaped the benefits of forward-thinking leaders who constructed a series of hydroelectric dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers. The low-cost, carbon-free renewable electricity generated by the dams supported thousands of jobs, and the irrigation made possible by the dams turned Eastern Washington’s soil into fertile...
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington, released the final edition of a study, Lower Snake River Dams: Benefit Replacement Report, that concludes the status quo is not an option when it comes to whether or not to remove the four dams.The study, released in late August,...
