OLYMPIA, Wash. – Lawmakers are considering stricter carbon standards for fuels used in cars and trucks. … Similar to the Climate Commitment Act, Washington’s Clean Fuel Standard sets targets over time to reduce carbon emissions from transportation fuels, with a marketplace of credits and deficits for fuel producers who are below and above the standards. […]
News Stories
Washington drivers feel higher gas prices as carbon costs soar
Carbon prices for air pollution allowances have climbed again, impacting drivers with higher gas prices across the state. The Department of Ecology announced that allowances sold for $50 each at the March auction, a 24% increase from December. According to the Washington State Standard, this latest sale will generate an additional $230 million for the […]
Washington carbon auction prices rise again
Prices for air pollution allowances under Washington’s cap-and-trade law climbed again at the state’s first auction of the year. …. It’s the second auction in a row where prices were up, following a slump before voters rejected a ballot measure last year that would have repealed the law. Prices last September fell below $30 after […]
Washington farmers face challenges as Climate Commitment Act increases supply costs
WASHINGTON – The Climate Commitment Act, designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, is causing challenges for farmers in Washington. The act sets pollution caps for the state’s largest polluters. Bre Elsey, Director of Governmental Affairs with the Washington Farm Bureau, highlighted that while large-scale farmers receive exemptions, small and medium-sized farms are not benefiting. … […]
Energy demand from data centers growing faster than West can supply, experts say
Data centers being rapidly built in the West are becoming an “emerging risk” to electrical grid reliability in the region, according to regional transmission experts. New data centers, which can be built in as little as 18 months, are far outpacing the growth in new electrical energy supply and transmission, according to members of the […]
Washington state ‘increasingly at risk’ for rolling blackouts
(The Center Square) – A proposed battery energy storage system near Goldendale under consideration by the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council would, if ultimately approved by Gov. Jay Inslee, be able to provide 200,000 homes with electricity for up to four hours. It’s a facility that Washington residents might need if the state is unable […]
PNW data center boom could imperil power supply within 5 years
PORTLAND — The Pacific Northwest’s power grid could be pushed beyond its limits in just five years by the staggering electricity demands of the booming data center industry, regional power planners recently reported. A forecast by the Northwest Power and Conservation Council highlights a looming conflict between an increasingly digital world and utilities’ capacity to […]
Surge in electricity demand spells trouble for PNW, forecasts show
EVERGREEN STATE COLLEGE, Olympia — Power planning forecasts in the Northwest show trouble ahead, in spiking demand for energy, transmission worries and no quick or cheap answers. The state and its neighbors are going to face challenges in keeping the lights on while complying with environmental mandates, including rebuilding salmon runs and meeting commitments to […]
WA’s carbon-pricing auctions collect nearly $1.5 billion as allowances reach record price
The price of Washington’s carbon emission allowances reached an all-time high in the state’s fourth auction last week, with revenue from the program nearing $1.5 billion in its first year. The revenue has far outpaced early estimates, and now a group that helped advocate for and pass the legislation that created the carbon-pricing market is […]
More pricey carbon allowances sell amid pain at the pump
A special pool of carbon allowances was auctioned by the Department of Ecology last week and the results figure to pour figurative gasoline on the debate over the cap-and-trade system’s impact on the price of actual gasoline. This latest auction stems from the state’s Climate Commitment Act which caps the total amount of CO2 that […]