Utilities are embracing California’s bid to expand its grid, but states aren’t so sure.
Wind Energy
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Wyoming considers raising an already unique wind tax
Legislators say wind needs to pay its fair share, but critics fear a higher tax could drive energy—and revenue—away.
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Can the feds save birds by allowing more to be killed?
Fish and Wildlife Service hopes proposal will entice energy developers to obtain permits for eagle deaths.
Posted inMay 16, 2016: Grizzly Face-Off
Latest: New wind farm releases plan to mitigate bird deaths
Renewable energy installations can cause thousands of bird deaths but have been slow to respond.
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New renewable energy projects may find opportunity in old transmission lines
A Montana wind energy project plans to make use of existing infrastructure built for coal.
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Are Clean Power Plan targets out of reach for Western states?
Experts say emissions targets are attainable, but uncertainty over how to get there remains.
Posted inOctober 26, 2015: Clean Energy's Dirty Secret
Green energy’s dirty secret
Industrial solar and wind endanger wildlife but are getting more support than ever.
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Obama slashes greenhouse gas emissions from power plants
The EPA’s historic Clean Power Plan makes a big push for renewables.
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Mapping drought’s impact on electricity generation
Natural gas, wind and solar fill some of the hydropower deficit in California.
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Renewable energy on tribal lands stalls out
Is the Bureau of Indian Affairs delaying wind and solar projects?
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A rural utility bucks against its power supplier
In a coal-producing region, this western Colorado co-op fights for renewables.
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States give Senate an earful on EPA greenhouse gas plan
Wyoming critiques federal coal plant cleanup at Senate hearing.
Posted inDecember 8, 2014: The Great Salmon Compromise
Alaska’s energy labs
Hybrid technologies help distribute power in isolated communities.
Posted inOctober 27, 2014: Defuse the West
The Latest: When wind and solar need reliable backup power
Western grid operators can now buy backup power on a real-time, open market to smooth intermittent renewables.
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The 21st century’s Hoover Dam?
What a huge Wyoming wind and Utah storage project tell us about the West’s energy landscape.
Posted inDecember 23, 2013: Beauty or Beast
The Latest: First federal prosecution of wind farm bird deaths
BackstoryDespite their clean-energy appeal, wind farms have a reputation for mowing down birds and bats. Much of the “bird blender” blame rests with one of the first farms, poorly placed on Altamont Pass near San Francisco (“Birds, blades and bats,” HCN, 5/02/05). But even with wildlife-friendly siting and better turbine technology, hundreds of thousands of […]