Conference Report: 2019 Clean & Affordable Energy Conference

In early December, I had the opportunity to represent CUB at the Northwest Energy Coalition’s (NWEC) Fall 2019 Clean & Affordable Energy Conference in Seattle. NWEC is an alliance of 150 environmental and civic organizations, utilities, and businesses in British Columbia, Idaho, Montana, Washington, and Oregon. NWEC and its members advocate for clean and affordable energy options and policies.

This conference provides a stage for a diverse group of parties to discuss issues and challenges that the Pacific NW energy industry will face while transitioning to a clean and affordable energy future. There were three major panels at the conference. The first panel was about the challenges facing Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and the region’s utilities as BPA’s long-term power contracts expire. BPA is a federal agency tasked with selling hydro power from the Columbia river system. Compared to other states, energy customers in the Northwest have enjoyed lower than average generation prices due the federal hydro system. However, BPA’s role in the region is currently in flux. The agency is facing increased operational and capital costs, and with that comes competition from low-cost renewable resources and independent energy service providers.

The next panel was about the future of decarbonization in the Northwest. Eileen Quigley from the Clean Energy Transition Institute presented a study on economy-wide decarbonization in the Northwest and attending economic impacts. One surprising takeaway from the study was that renewable biofuel is projected to be used primarily for aviation fuel, rather than as biogas for the natural gas system. Another presenter on this panel, Keegan Moyer from Energy Strategies, presented a study on the integration of renewable energy in the Western United States. The key takeaway from this study was that considerable energy efficiency and load management programs are needed to integrate renewables into the system.

The third major panel was about engaging customers in energy efficiency programs. Representatives from government, and NGOs - including CUB’s own Bob Jenks - discussed the difficulty of getting customers to actively participate in energy efficiency programs. Bob explained that Oregon is unique in that average residential energy usage has decreased over the past two decades, while on a national basis average it has increased. The key takeaway from the panel is that energy efficiency programs can save millions of ratepayer dollars and cut demands on the utility grid. However, the panel agreed that energy efficacy programs are not a one-size-fits-all solution to meaningfully reduce customers’ energy usage. And there was significant discussion of equity issues, many of which result in unequal access to opportunities to make homes more efficient. For example, in individually metered buildings, each household pays its own electricity bill. Therefore, landlords do not have an incentive to invest in energy efficiency on behalf of their renters.

This conference was an excellent learning experience, that brought together many different sectors of the energy industry. CUB applauds NWEC for putting on such a well-rounded and thought-provoking event.

To keep up with CUB, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

• Share this post on Facebook.
• Share this post on LinkedIn.
• Share this post with email.

« Back