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The Switch Banner When you flip the switch, where does your power come from?
OPB News is exploring this question and many more in a special series, "The Switch".

  

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Biogas: Waste Into Energy Projects Look Promising

Biogas6/29/2009

The last feature story in OPB's energy series "The Switch" is, quite literally, about the end - waste.

Some Oregon farms are turning waste into an energy source called "biogas."

The state estimates biogas weighs in at a competitive market rate of only a few cents per kilowatt hour. But as Rob Manning reports, the costs, complications, and the benefits, can vary, based on the kind of waste you're using.

Biomass: Could Oregon’s Trees Make Us Energy Exporter?

Ethanol6/22/2009

Today we’re going to look at the energy source that preceded fossil fuels, and is back again for an encore -- Wood.

Central Oregon correspondent Ethan Lindsey reports now that Oregon’s forests may have a real energy future – as biomass.

Biomass Q&A
 - Tropical Plant Shows Promise As Biomass Energy Source

Wave Power: Oregon Well Situated For Ocean Energy

Pro Logis6/15/2009

One source of energy, ocean power, -- from waves or the tide -- remains doggedly attached to the drawing board.

As Kristian Foden-Vencil reports, there are a series of coincidences that make Oregon well-suited to take advantage of ocean power if it ever comes to fruition.

Ocean Power Q&A
- Salter's Duck Started Wave Energy In Motion

Solar Power: Only A Rich Man's Renewable Source?

Pro Logis6/8/2009

Without energy from the sun, life on earth would be impossible. Turning that energy into electricity is one of the keys to saving the earth, according to renewable power advocates.

Rob Manning reports that if solar is going to take off in the Northwest, it will mean re-shaping our relationship with energy.

Fusion Q&A
- An Energy Idea For The Future

Geothermal: Cascades Make Oregon A ‘Hotbed’ Fish Food

6/2/2009 Geothermal power soon will get a share of $400 million in federal stimulus money.

That’s a tectonic shift for a field that almost had its funding zeroed out under the Bush Administration.

Any money for Oregon geothermal projects could have a real impact. And that's the next installment of our energy series, The Switch.

Geothermal Q&A
 - Using Hot Rocks For Energy Production

Nuclear Power: Low Cost, Small Carbon Footprint, Huge Risks

Control Room5/18/2009 - Ballot Measure 7, which passed in 1980, effectively banned the construction of a nuclear power plant in Oregon. But what the law doesn’t do, is stop Oregon utilities from buying nuclear power on the market.

Hydropower: It's Renewable, But Is It Green?

5/4/2009 - Hydroelectric power has long been part of the Northwest’s fabled history. In fact, Woody Guthrie wrote a whole album about building the Columbia River dams. But in our clean energy future, is hydropower really "green" enough?

Hydropower Q&A
 - Hydropower May Be The Solution To Energy Storage Problem

Wind: A Very Green But Very Intermittent Source Of Power

Wind Power: A Very Green But Very Intermittent Source Of Power

5/4/2009 - We continue our energy series, the Switch, with a look at the one renewable source of energy that started booming a decade ago: wind power.

Wind Power Q&A
 - A Down-To-Earth Approach To Storing Energy 

Conservation: A Painless Way To Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions

4/27/2009 - With climate change triggering a major switch in how the Northwest produces electricity, the array of options can sound dizzying and expensive.

But the most painless way to cut the carbon dioxide greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change is energy conservation.

Conservation Q&A
 - Consumers Want To Conserve, But It's A Challenge

Natural Gas: A Cleaner Option, But Still A Fossil Fuel

4/20/2009 - One of the most pressing questions in today’s power market is how Oregon can be weaned off polluting fossil fuels, and onto the developing renewable sources.

As part of our on-going series on energy, The Switch, April Baer reports that dilemma is part of what’s driving the hottest commodity on Oregon’s energy market, natural gas.

Natural Gas Q&A
 - Oregon AG Wants Increased Use Of Domestic Natural Gas

Coal: Even In Hydro-Rich Northwest, Coal Still Major Power Source

4/13/2009 - The switch is all about reducing the greenhouse  gases that cause climate change, and so we're kicking off our series with coal -- a power source that comes from fossils.

Coal Power Q&A
 - Capture Is Expensive Part Of Carbon Sequestration Projects

 

Biogas

What role will poop play in our energy future?

Biomass

Where does wood fit in the Northwest's energy future?

 Wave Energy

Can the sea power us in the future?

 

Solar Power

What's the best and most cost effective kind of solar energy?

 

Geothermal Energy

How can geothermal energy become a bigger part of Oregon’s energy picture?

 

  Powerful Combination

What will it take to integrate wind and hydro power in order to get the most out of these resources?

 

The Efficiency Factor

Today we look at ways individual conservation factors into Oregon's energy mix. After all, the most basic way to cut greenhouse gases is to use less energy. But can the light bulbs we use and the windows installed in our homes really make a difference?

LATEST COMMENTS

 

The Future of Coal

Last week the Environmental Protection Agency ruled that carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases are health-harming pollutants.

It's a watershed move that might open the door for greater regulation of coal.

LATEST COMMENTS

 

 

 

  More Recent Energy Coverage From OPB News

Bend Considers Building A Hydroelectric Project On Tumalo Creek

Tumalo CreekMany cities and irrigation districts across the state have developed new plans to build small-scale hydroelectric projects.

These aren’t your grandparents’ dams – they are smaller generators -- on pipes -- that take advantage of the energy in the stream flow.

News

 

 

The Grid

POWER HUNGRY

Reinventing The U.S. Power Grid

Series Overview: Electricity In America

Transformer

In a series of stories on Morning Edition and All Things Considered and published on NPR.org, we examine the costs, the politics and other challenges of upgrading the country's electricity grid.

 

 

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