The assault on the clean energy transition is in full swing with a new administration at the helm in Washington, DC. The full nature of the administration’s intent and the extent of the damage are still unfolding, although we knew some of what to expect—valuable resources and data removed from federal sites; projects and funding frozen; and personnel changes that impact federal employees’ abilities to share their expertise and dispense key funding to spur an equitable clean energy transition throughout the country. However, the swift and precise execution we’ve seen so far is different than the past and portentous.
We are deeply mindful that immigrants, LGBTQ communities, and other marginalized people throughout the country will experience the devastating consequences of the new administration’s agenda. We will not lose sight of that reality as we triple our efforts to accelerate an equitable clean energy transition in the Northwest.
When the first Trump Administration took power in 2017, CETI was merely an idea. Eight years later, we are a unique, established, respected regional nonprofit with multiple collaborative partners throughout the four Northwest states and numerous studies, reports, and projects under our belt that explore how to decarbonize our region swiftly and equitably.
Much work remains to tackle the existential crisis that climate change poses and with the support of our funders and community, we will be able to continue to make progress.
Eileen V. Quigley
Executive Director
CETI worked with Ross Strategic and Industrial Economics, Inc. on a Rural Clean Energy Economics and Community Engagement Study and Report for the Washington State Department of Commerce. The study investigates the opportunities and impacts of renewable energy development in rural communities throughout Washington and includes eight recommendations for the Legislature to consider in future clean energy policies, such as:
Read the full report here.
Last November, Eileen was elected to serve on the inaugural Board of the Washington State Green Bank, which aims to become a significant source of capital to fund clean energy projects in the state’s underserved communities. Green banks are mission-driven entities that use innovative financing techniques to accelerate the transition to clean energy and fight climate change.
The Inflation Reduction Act created the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, which granted $27 billion to the Environmental Protection Agency to award grants to eligible entities, including existing green banks, to mobilize financing for clean energy projects. The hunt is on for the WA Green Bank’s first Executive Director to develop the bank’s financing programs and partnerships. Learn more and apply here.
CETI and Evolved Energy Research have completed the energy pathways modeling to support Oregon’s Energy Strategy. Jeremy Hargreaves, the principal modeler, will present the model results to a public audience this Friday, January 31, from 10am –12pm at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) in Portland. A virtual option will be available for those who cannot attend in person, and a recorded version will also be posted after the event. See event details here.
Next steps for the project include completing the complementary analyses—energy wallet, air quality modeling, and geospatial mapping—and supporting the Oregon Department of Energy with the upcoming Policy Working Groups that will reflect on the results of the technical modeling and identify policy gaps and opportunities.
We remain at work on SCALE 2030, a project with 2050 Institute to scale building decarbonization in Washington state, and are in the final steps of producing a Building Decarbonization Ecosystem Report that will be released in early spring with a webinar.
CETI and Evolved Energy Research are working with the Washington Department of Commerce to provide technical and economic support for the state’s Comprehensive Climate Action Plan. The modeling results will be presented at the spring quarterly public meeting on April 28, 2025. In addition to modeling the pathways for how Washington can meet its net-zero emissions targets, we will also dig into the health benefits of reducing emissions, the jobs implications, and the impact on Washingtonians’ pocketbooks.
CETI continues to participate in the Regional Engagement Committee for WestTEC. Discussions are currently focused on developing two scenarios for the 20-year horizon study. In late February, Jeanne will travel to Portland for a WestTEC-wide meeting to finalize the selected scenarios. Themes that are likely to be studied in the scenarios include the speed of load growth and industrial growth, the extent of greenhouse gas emissions policies, and key technologies advancement.
CETI University of Washington ACORN Fellow Cassia Cai updated five visualizations on CETI’s Northwest Clean Energy Atlas using data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Check them out and read her blog that explains the EIA’s new approach to calculating the primary energy consumption of electricity generation from noncombustible renewables:
This month, Research Analysts Jeanne Currie and Ruby Moore-Bloom wrote a blog and created a new visualization for the Northwest Clean Energy Atlas to demystify the electric utility landscape in the Northwest. The visualization explores all types of utilities across the four-state region and makes it easy to compare average price, number of customers, and sales between utilities.
Read the blog for more context on the complex patchwork of utilities that provide electricity to Northwest customers or go straight to the visualization to explore on your own:
Next month, CETI will share our plan for the research and projects we will undertake undertake in 2025. We will explore how to implement clean energy solutions affordably and tackle the challenge of developing enough clean energy to power industry, transportation, and buildings in the Northwest. We will also announce exciting new hires – so stay tuned!
%20(1).jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)