A new 20-year plan for the Northwest’s energy future says we’re better off being more efficient, instead of building more power plants.
The Northwest Power and Conservation Council approved the plan today. It includes an ambitious goal to meet 85% of the region’s growing demand for electricity through energy efficiency. The promised benefits include paying less to meet new the demand, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and creating thousands of jobs.
Here’s what the plan sees happening in the next two decades.
- Population Growth: Northwest states are expected to grow by nearly 4 million people, from about 13 million today to 16.7 million by 2030.
- Increased Demand: On an average day, we burn through about 21,000 megawatts of power, although that can spike much higher on hot days. By 2030 we’ll be using 28,000 megawatts daily, an increase of 7,000 megawatts, or about one-third. That’s assuming we do nothing to improve efficiency.
But council says we can meet most of that new demand, 85% of it, by being more careful with how we use power. This includes new building codes for more efficient homes and businesses, and better efficiency from appliances such as refrigerators, clothes dryers and washers. Council spokesman John Harrison says many of these new standards are already in place, or are coming soon.
The council is also relying on public utilities to do more to encourage customers to make existing homes and buildings more efficient. For example, the Eugene Water and Electric Board offers a variety of programs to help customers reduce electrical bills. The program for homeowners includes rebates for new appliances and light bulbs, plus interest free loans for weatherizing your home with more insulation and new windows.
“The challenge here is that customers have to do it,” says Harrison. “It won’t happen on its own.”
But the benefits could be enormous.
More jobs: The council estimates that by investing more in energy efficiency, it will create at least 43,000 more jobs in the next two decades. These jobs will be in industries related to efficiency, such as weatherizing homes.
No new coal: When we need to add power plants, the council says we should focus on renewable energy and natural gas. The plan says not only can we avoid new coal-fired plants, we can reduce our reliance on coal by 50%.
Less Greenhouse Gases: By taking all these steps, we can cut carbon emissions by 17 million tons per year by 2030.
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