Ted Sickinger, The Oregonian August 11, 2009
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2009/08/efficiency_can_help_nw_meet_85.html
The Northwest can meet 85 percent of its new electricity needs over the next 20 years solely through conservation, and do so at half the cost of building power plants, according to the Northwest Power Planning and Conservation Council.
That's a radical concept in an industry that typically meets growing demand by adding new production. . .
The power planning council was created by Congress in 1980 as a vehicle for Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana to coordinate energy policy and manage the Columbia River hydro system. Every five years, it delivers an updated power plan that details how utilities in the region can guarantee consumers adequate and reliable energy at the lowest economic and environmental cost. . .
The council's sixth power plan foresees regional utilities acquiring up to 1,400 megawatts of energy efficiency in the next five years -- enough to power Seattle and then some -- and 5,800 megawatts by 2030. Over 20 years, that's equivalent to about one quarter of the energy used in the region today, or about 85 percent of the projected demand growth over that time.
About half of those energy savings are residential -- from water heating, insulation, heat pumps and more efficient consumer electronics. Another 40 percent is commercial and industrial, from lighting, heating and more efficient operations.
The council estimates that conservation measures will cost less than half as much as building conventional power plants, and come carbon-free, a big plus as global warming legislation gathers momentum in Congress. The rest of the region's new energy needs could be met primarily by wind farms, geothermal and some investments in gas-fired power plants by individual utilities such as Oregon's largest, Portland General Electric. . .
The council is scheduled to vote on the power plan today and the draft plan will be open to public comment for 60 days before a final plan is issued in December.
