Saturday, March 25, 2023

Play

Georgia prepares for the end of COVID-19 emergency; comment period open for experimental nuclear tech in eastern ID; Mexican gray wolf population rebounds in Arizona.

Play

Lawmakers grill the CEO of Tik Tok over national security concerns, the House Pro-Choice Caucus aims to repeal the Helms Act and allow U.S. foreign aid to support abortion care, and attempts to ban or restrict books hit a record high as groups take aim at LBGTQ+ titles.

Play

Finding childcare is a struggle everywhere, prompting North Carolina's Transylvania County to try a new approach. Maine is slowly building-out broadband access, but disagreements remain over whether local versus national companies should get the contracts, and specialty apps like "Farmers Dating" help those in small communities connect online.

Power Company's Hurdles to MT Renewables Left in Place

Play

Monday, July 31, 2017   

BOZEMAN, Mont. — Clean energy advocates in the Northwest say the Bonneville Power Administration's decision to reduce the rate charged on wind energy transmitted from Montana will do little to encourage renewable energy use in the region.

Bonneville Power announced it would reduce what is known as the intertie rate - a charge on the use of transmission lines in western Montana - by 15 percent through 2019. Jeff Fox, Montana policy manager with Renewable Northwest, said the rate reduction is unlikely to encourage use of the system.

"I would call the reduction an insufficient consolation prize,” Fox said. "It really sort of acknowledges the problem and corrects some errors with the fee but doesn't go far enough in that the rate really needs to be eliminated."

Fox compared it to a toll road that no one is using. The barrier for renewables is too high to access the transmission lines, and so Bonneville Power doesn't actually see the benefit for charging this rate. Less than 10 percent of the capacity where this rate applies is currently in use, according to the Northwest Energy Coalition.

Fox said elimination of the intertie rate has almost unprecedented support from Montana, Washington and Oregon politicians. He said eliminating the rate would open up the wind market for Montana and make it available to metropolitan areas in the Northwest that need it most.

It would also provide power when the region needs it the most. Northwest utility use peaks in the winter.

"It produces most of its energy during the winter. It also produces most of its energy during the day, and that's really important for the Northwest, which tends to produce the greatest amount of energy when the hydro-dams are at their fullest in the spring months,” Fox said. "So, this is a resource that fits in well to the Northwest."

Bonneville Power acknowledged in its decision to reduce the intertie rate that there were inconsistencies in how the rate was calculated. The importance of wind energy is likely to increase as Colstrip, a coal-fired power plant providing power to the Northwest, is retired over the next few years.


get more stories like this via email

Nevada is the only state with what is known as a summary eviction process. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

The Nevada Housing Justice Alliance, tenants, lawmakers and community leaders gathered at a news conference outside the Capitol in Carson City this …


Social Issues

Family caregivers provide valuable work to Washington state - even if they don't get paid. A new report puts a value to the unpaid work they do…

Social Issues

Advocates for Michigan's LGBTQ community are calling lawmakers' move to expand the state's civil rights law to include them a victory that's "been a l…


Illinois advocacy groups say they are educating policymakers on the benefits of hospital screening as a solution to prevent medical debt, both for low-income patients and the hospital. (volgariver/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

A new report finds thousands of low-income or uninsured people in Illinois face medical debt that is depleting their savings and, in some cases…

Health and Wellness

The Iowa Senate has approved a measure allowing some medical facilities to be licensed as "emergency hospitals." This would be especially important in…

The Idaho National Laboratory is located near Idaho Falls. (MichaelVi/Adobe Stock)

Environment

The U.S. Department of Energy has opened a short public-comment window on an experimental nuclear technology in Idaho. The agency has released a …

Social Issues

School nutrition providers told Ohio lawmakers this week they're tired of hounding parents for school lunch money when their child's account accrues d…

Health and Wellness

A Georgia health advocacy group is concerned about people's health outcomes as the COVID-19 public health emergency is set to expire on May 11…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021