The Emerald People’s Utility District near Eugene,
Ore., says it will provide “green power” to its customers. The
district has agreed to pay 75 percent more to a new partnership
between the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and a trio of
environmental groups formed to encourage energy production that
doesn’t harm air quality or salmon. The participating organizations
– the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Renewable Northwest
Project and the Northwest Energy Coalition – will select a group of
experts to “certify” facilities such as wind turbines and small
hydroelectric projects that have a minimal impact on fish and air
quality. The BPA will then sell this “green’ – and more costly –
power to utility districts. Utility districts, in turn, will either
market the higher-priced green power to consumers or spread the
extra cost among all users. Proceeds will be split between
investment in renewable energy projects and the Bonneville
Environmental Foundation, a new nonprofit focused on restoring fish
and wildlife habitat. The BPA promises that the foundation’s
contributions won’t replace existing programs to help salmon. So
far, the environmental organizations involved have given their
approval to two existing facilities certified by American Rivers:
Packwood Lake, a hydropower project in Washington that harnesses
the lake’s natural outflow without the need for a dam; and Idaho
Falls, a series of small hydroelectric dams on the Snake River.
For more information, contact Michelle Ackermann
with the Northwest Energy Coalition at 206/621-4582 or visit their
Web site, www.nwenergy.org/nwec.
* Stanley Yung
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Trading up to salmon power.
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