Energy
New $20M Framatome facility to open by year’s end
Richland plant set to begin operating new 11,000-square-foot scrap uranium recovery facility A $20 million facility is set to open before the end of the year at Richland’s Framatome, coinciding with the nuclear fuel manufacturing company’s 50th anniversary in town. “The longevity of the Richland facility illustrates our employees’ commitment to innovation and excellence, year…
Hydrogen fuel cells gaining momentum
In the coming decade, investors are betting that hydrogen will become a prominent fuel that can eliminate carbon dioxide discharges from the vehicles it energizes. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the transportation sector has dominated the growth in U.S. carbon dioxide emissions since 1990, accounting for 69 percent of the total increase. It…
Better batteries likely to drive electric car market
By Andrew Kirk With a nuclear reservation, national laboratory and cutting-edge agricultural processing in the Tri-Cities’ backyard, Jeff Leskovar expected Mitsubishi’s plug-in hybrid electric vehicle Outlander would be well received. “We thought they’d be popular with Hanford scientists, a high-tech product like this,” he said. “But we sell a lot of them to Spokane.” Almost…
Washington natural gas customers seeing higher energy bills
Natural gas customers in Washington started seeing higher energy bills beginning Nov. 1 due in part to last winter’s colder temperatures and a 2018 gas pipeline explosion in British Columbia. The state Utilities and Transportation Commission recently approved rate adjustments ranging from 4 percent to 15 percent for Avista, Cascade Natural Gas, NW Natural and…
Q & A with Michael J. Bradshaw
General Manager/Executive Vice President of Benton Rural Electric Association Number of employees you oversee: 72 Brief background about your electric cooperative: Benton REA is a not-for-profit, electric cooperative that has been providing the people of Benton, Yakima and Lewis counties with high-quality, reliable service since 1937. Our structure of being owned and controlled by the…
Snake River dam removal distracts from salmon recovery efforts
By Todd Myers Should Washington state risk 11 years of salmon recovery funding on something scientists believe will do little to increase salmon populations? How about eliminating electricity generation equivalent to every solar panel and wind turbine in Washington state? Essentially, those arguing we need to destroy the Snake River dams suggest we do both.…
Hanford contractor knows cost savings come with energy savings
Mission Support Alliance knows finding ways to reduce energy consumption at the Hanford site helps shrink the site’s carbon footprint and reduce costs. MSA, the U.S. Department of Energy contractor, helps DOE and its contractors with energy management and equipment upgrades. MSA’s energy management team works with site contractors, often in the planning phase of…
Energy Northwest delivers decades of joy to area preschoolers
Santa and his elves will surprise hundreds of Pasco students for the 39th year running when Energy Northwest employees deliver presents as part of the Head Start holiday program that’s served 14,000 children since it began. “People are just so giving at our company,” said Michelle Curtis, a training specialist for Energy Northwest and the…
Engineers earn national kudos for creating nuclear fuel assembly model
Present a problem to an engineer and that engineer will find a solution with enthusiasm. That’s what a group of people did recently at Framatome in Richland. Caleb Sarka, Rianna Preston, Chad King, Destinee Rea, Jeff Waddell and Manuel Seubert all work for Framatome. And all are members of the North American Young Generation in…
Regional public utility districts ponder best ways to handle bitcoin growth
Mining in the Northwest was different in the 1890s. Back then, miners hunted for gold in the streams and mountains of Alaska and the Yukon with picks and shovels. Seattle was a jumping-off point and supply center for gold miners. Today, central Washington, upstream of the Tri-Cities, has become the focus of a new type…
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