News and Updates

Washington boasts some of the most ambitious clean energy targets in the country. Based on our climate laws, clear public support to transition to clean energy, and abundant wind and solar resources, Washington state should be a national leader, building hundreds of megawatts of clean energy per year. Instead, we’re 50th out of 50 states for new clean energy development. Announcements of completed projects have all but ground to a halt. What is going on?

The Northwest has abundant wind, solar, and other clean energy resources ready to fuel our economy and power communities. But a critical challenge is standing in the way of energy growth and economic opportunity is transmission. Without new lines and expanding capacity, clean energy projects stall, communities lose jobs and revenue, and our region’s ability to attract industry and investment is limited. Understanding the hurdles to building transmission, and how states can step in to solve them, is key to unlocking the Northwest’s energy and economic potential.

At the News Data Western Energy Conference in Boise, our Executive Director, Nicole Hughes, called for a strategy that “lifts all boats” in the electric sector. This comment has raised questions, and we’d like to address what this actually means for Renewable Northwest (RNW) and our clean energy mission.

"This is not about wind and solar versus gas and nuclear. It’s about more steel in the ground, more generation, more transmission, more flexibility and diversity. We need it all and we need it now.”

The Pacific Northwest has long been at the policy forefront of the clean energy transition. With the recent passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), our region is no exception in facing a pivotal moment.

Aaron Menenberg, Renewable Northwest's Idaho Policy Manager, was featured on The Ranch Podcast to discuss the energy crisis facing the United States and the role renewables play in Idaho.

Subsidies have long accelerated American energy production. And these subsidies have had their intended impact: in 2023, the United States ranked as the world’s second-largest energy producer, leveraging government support to develop a multi-trillion dollar energy industry that provides reliable, affordable power with an all-of-the-above strategy that advances national security and drives the world’s largest economy.

Op-ed by Aaron Menenberg, Idaho Policy Manager. Idaho Power projects that demand growth over the next five years will equal all growth the state experienced in the previous 40 years combined. To meet this mindboggling need, we must enable an extraordinary buildout of new energy, fast.

Ada County is debating how strictly to limit solar farms on farmland.

If you’ve never thought much about transmission lines, you’re not alone, but a lack of transmission capacity is quickly becoming one of the biggest barriers to a reliable, affordable, and clean energy future.