SANDPOINT, Idaho -- Idahoans will get a chance to have their voices heard on their energy future this week. The Idaho Public Utilities Commission is holding a virtual public hearing on Avista's 20-year integrated resource plan on Wednesday.

The city of Sandpoint, Idaho Conservation League, Idaho Forest Group and Avista customers have been calling for a public meeting on the plan since March. Matt Nykiel, conservation associate in Sandpoint with the Idaho Conservation League, said being able to speak about this plan is different than writing a comment.

"Not only is it a more powerful way to connect Avista customers with their public oversight body and their electric company, but it's a way for customers and Idahoans to hear what other people are thinking about in terms of where they're getting electricity from," Nykiel said.

Avista serves about 133,000 customers in northern Idaho.

Nykiel said his organization is generally supportive of the direction Avista is heading. The company has committed to being carbon neutral by 2027 and providing 100% clean energy by 2045.

But, he added, the company is accounting for the social cost of carbon - or the cost of climate change - for its Washington customers, but not its Idaho customers.

Because climate change is becoming a more pressing challenge, Nykiel also believes Avista needs to speed up its timetable for transitioning to clean energy.

"We think Avista needs to be looking a little harder and with more creativity and more urgency to reduce their carbon emissions quicker," he said.

Nykiel said there is evidence Avista is willing to accept clean energy more quickly. He highlighted its integrated resource plan from two years ago, when the company planned to stay invested in Colstrip - the biggest coal plant in the West - through 2045.

Avista has changed its mind on that, and Nykiel said that is in part because operating fossil fuels has become less economically viable.

"We really need to be thinking and looking more closely at not only coal, but gas, and asking ourselves is this a financially sound idea for Idahoans to be investing in fossil fuels at this point?" He said.

Written comments from the public on Avista's integrated resource plan are due by August 19. Wednesday's public hearing is scheduled for 5 p.m. Pacific time.

ALBANY, N.Y. - Groups in support of renewable energy are pushing for legislation and other initiatives to accelerate complete electrification of buildings in the state, as part of efforts to reduce carbon emissions.

Alliance for Clean Energy New York is among the advocates supporting the building-code bill that would phase in all-electrical appliances and heating. It passed in the state Senate but has yet to reach the Assembly floor.

ACE New York Executive Director Anne Reynolds said if the state is going to meet its climate goals, it has to accelerate its use of electricity in buildings.

"And it really comes down to making building electrification accessible and affordable for New Yorkers over time," said Reynolds. "So that when we get to 2040, and 2050, that becomes the standard that all buildings have."

Reynolds said a way to speed up the change to electric is to offer New Yorkers more incentives to install air-source heat pumps, and enforce possible energy-efficiency efforts into buildings.

The Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act of 2019 establishes that the state must operate at 100% zero-emission energy by 2040.

Reynolds noted there are voluntary energy-efficiency programs in place. Some include special lighting, building retrofits, appliances and new insulation.

But she added that current voluntary programs don't give the movement the momentum it needs to reach climate goals.

"But it's just not at the scale that we would need to get to the finish line," said Reynolds.

Other hurdles are at stake. Reynolds said that since natural gas is still inexpensive, it's tough to convince people to change over to electric heating from a gas furnace.

She noted that will change over time because the cost of air-source heat pumps is dropping.

"The general trend is going to be towards air-source heat pumps for most buildings," said Reynolds. "And it's just going to take a long time and a lot of work to change all those buildings because of course there's over a million buildings in New York State."

Reynolds says her group will explore more topics on the switch to renewable energy at its public fall conference on Thursday. More information is at 'aceny.org'.

BELCOURT, N.D. -- Renewable-energy advocates in North Dakota are hoping for more federal support to advance projects, after a key meeting with a Biden cabinet member this month.

U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm took part in a roundtable discussion last week, hosted by the governor, who along with fossil-fuel leaders promoted practices such as carbon storage in adapting fuel technology.

Other stakeholders pushed for more focus on helping North Dakota pursue avenues such as wind, solar and geothermal heating.

Wes Davis, director of facilities and sustainability at Turtle Mountain Community College, wants more federal resources to educate tribal communities about clean energy infrastructure.

"If we're able to develop curriculum to train these people at tribal colleges, then we can create trades," Davis explained.

He pointed out the approach could create more economic opportunities and sustainability in tribal communities. The meeting coincided with the Department of Energy announcing $20 million to help certain states advance carbon capture and storage.

The University of North Dakota Energy and Environmental Research Center will share in the money, but clean-energy advocates argued the approach is too costly and won't be as effective in reducing harmful emissions.

Meanwhile, other groups attending Granholm's visit said regulators should set a tone to make it harder for larger wind and solar companies to swoop into North Dakota, set up shop and reap the benefits.

Jim Kambeitz, owner of Lightspring Solar, said local companies want to make a difference, but don't have an edge.

"I mean, who has $26 million in tax liability that they can just write off?" Kambeitz observed. "It's very hard to compete on that high corporate level. There should be something that levels the playing field."

When it comes to solar opportunities, Kambeitz feels there is a lot of room for growth in North Dakota.

"North Dakota is ranked 12th to 13th in the most amount of sunlight hours of all 50 states," Kambeitz noted.

According to industry rankings, North Dakota routinely falls near the bottom in solar output.

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Proposals in Congress's
Build Back Better plan could speed up and lower the cost of electrifying people's homes.

The budget-reconciliation package currently in front of lawmakers in Washington, D.C. aims to take major climate action. The current plan includes $18 billion in rebates to help people afford electric appliances and fund energy-saving retrofits in their homes.

Melinda Hughes, executive director of the Thurston Climate Action Team in Olympia, acknowledged the changes needed to make infrastructure more climate-friendly are costly.

"To do the retrofits and weatherization that's needed, just in Thurston County alone, we're looking at probably a need of $2 billion, which of course isn't easy to come up with," Hughes admitted. "The federal funding, when it comes through, is a pretty sizable amount."

Lawmakers are currently debating the budget reconciliation package. Opponents say the price tag for the bill, which exceeds $3.5 trillion, is too expensive.

Up to $9 billion dollars in the bill would go to rebates for home electrification, with $5.8 billion dedicated to households with low to moderate incomes.

Mark Kresowik, federal and international policy manager of the carbon-free buildings program for the Rocky Mountain Institute, a nonprofit pushing for clean energy, said rebates in the bill reach up to $14,000 to electrify appliances such as heat pumps.

Kresowik noted many low- to moderate-income families have gas infrastructure in their homes right now.

"Twenty-six million households burning fossil fuels inside their homes right now," Kresowik pointed out. "Burning gas and other fossil fuels at your home causes tremendous health problems, it's contributing to climate disruption, and it's costing families far more money than they need to be paying for energy."

Kresowik believes there are many upsides to electrifying appliances in the home.

"These superior electric appliances like heat pumps and induction stoves can lower costs, save lives, increase jobs and provide more comfortable, affordable homes for everyone," Kresowik asserted.

Another component of the bill dedicates $20 billion to electrification, efficiency and health and safety repairs in the affordable and multifamily housing sectors.