NW Energy Coalition

Meet our new Oregon Senior Policy Associate, Jeff Bissonnette! 👋

Jeff joined the NWEC staff in September 2026 but has had a long association with the coalition before that. He represented a member organization, served as a board member for 13 years (and was board chair during some of that time), and worked as a contractor. Throughout his career, Jeff has been involved in energy, utility, and climate issues with a focus on policy development and implementation, serving as organizing director and then policy director for the Oregon Citizens' Utility Board, executive director of the Oregon Solar Energy Industries Association, and as Pacific Northwest Advocate for the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Outside of work, Jeff is involved in amateur radio and volunteer emergency response, reading, cooking, and seeing horror movies with his son (although he'd really rather watch almost anything else).

Meet our new Data Center Policy Associate, Ethan Taswell! 👋

Before joining NWEC, Ethan built his environmental career in Aotearoa New Zealand, where he initially worked as a biodiversity ranger tracking critically endangered bird species, and later on landscape-scale strategic conservation planning for local and national government. In these roles, Ethan specialized in community engagement and stakeholder facilitation, leading outreach to Māori Tribes and stewarding public comment processes. He has a B.A. in Conservation Science and Policy from Brown University, and a Master of Climate Solutions from the University of California, Berkeley, where he researched compensatory biological mitigation regulations for renewable energy developments, and wrote advocacy blogs arguing for the sustainable build-out of data center infrastructure. Continuing that work, Ethan will be leading the Coalition’s data center campaigning alongside our members in Washington, and is excited to meet passionate people across the state who want to ensure that our communities, clean energy supply, salmon, and water are protected.

One month until our fall 2026 conference, "People + Power in the Energy Transition"! Learn more about the three sessions we are leading throughout the day with some great partners:

⚡ Session 1—Start with Trust: Ingredients for Successful Community-Led Clean Energy Implementation with Spark Northwest

Communities across the Pacific Northwest are embracing clean energy—but planning, funding, and installing these projects is where policy turns into reality. Join Spark Northwest for a highly interactive session exploring practical insights into what engaging communities, navigating multiple stakeholders, and aligning projects with local priorities looks like. Participants will work through real-world scenarios in small groups and engage in a collective discussion to reflect on where policy and regulatory decisions can accelerate community-led clean energy projects and how more inclusive clean energy policy starts on the ground in local communities.

🔌 Session 2—Building Resilience Through Distributed Energy Resources with Clean Energy Transition Institute

We have much of the technology we need, but how can we best integrate it into the grid? Distributed energy resources (DERs), such as battery storage, distributed solar, and demand response, provide an opportunity to solve many of the challenges we have around local resilience and affordability. This panel will explore examples of policy and regulatory solutions to realize the opportunity that integrating DERs can provide to meeting our regions clean energy and equity goals.

🏡 Session 3—Data Centers and Energy Affordability with Front and Centered

Data center growth and rising energy costs are two rapidly evolving concerns in the energy space. Panelists in this session will explore where these two topics interact, highlight frontline perspectives, and share learnings from policy and regulatory efforts to ensure data center growth is regulated in a way that protects communities and does not exacerbate energy affordability challenges.

Register today! https://nwenergy.org/fall-2026-conference/

Last week, our Senior Policy Associate Charlee Thompson spoke with Whidbey Island residents about what's really driving increasing electricity rates and what we can do about it.

https://www.whidbeynewstimes.com/2026/09/08/whidbey-power-bills-keep-climbing/ #

Whidbey power bills keep climbing - Whidbey News-Times And another round of significant rate increases could be on the way.

The Ninth Northwest Regional Power Plan is here, and this plan is more important than ever. Join us for a webinar on Monday, August 24 to learn more about what's in the plan and how you can advocate for a clean, reliable, and affordable energy future for the region.

Register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/80fq0jt9Saud1J7c4_UFCA #/registration

Join us tomorrow, August 19 at 5 p.m. PT for “Shifting Power on Data Centers," the first session of our Energy Justice webinar series with Front and Centered.

Learn more and register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_F33Xtwk7TGGr66m3E_-cSg?_x_zm_rtaid=FrpiWn6zRu6vT2kIElrtFQ.1786999402221.02dc391902a6765a67b4d88fa0170437&_x_zm_rhtaid=189 #/registration

We can protect and restore salmon and steelhead AND provide affordable and reliable energy.

Make your voice heard: Share and comment on this post and let public utilities know you support smart, affordable energy solutions that allow our salmon to recover and thrive.

People in the Northwest have solved complex challenges before. We can do it again.

Learn more at wildsalmon.org/SmartEnergyFutureNW

Today, the Northwest Power and Conservation Council meets in Seattle to discuss the approval of the draft Ninth Northwest Regional Power Plan. At a time of surging demand, affordability challenges and climate change-related pressures, it is more important than ever that the Council and the Ninth Plan direct the region to a cleaner and more affordable and reliable energy future.

Our statement:

Northwest Power and Conservation Council Meets in Seattle to Discuss Approval of Draft Ninth Northwest Regional Power Plan - NW Energy Coalition Energy and conservation groups urge the Council to prioritize clean energy resources, affordability and reliability for the region On Tuesday, August 11, the Northwest Power and Conservation Council meets in Seattle to discuss the approval of the draft Ninth Northwest Regional Power Plan for release...

Join us on October 15 in Seattle for our fall 2026 conference, People and Power in the Energy Transition! ⚡

Come together with regional energy experts, advocates, utility leaders, business representatives, and policymakers from across Washington, Oregon, Montana, and Idaho to pause and reflect on where we are in the energy transition and how we continue to move towards a clean, affordable, and equitable energy system.

Conference sessions will focus on:
🔌 Centering frontline voices in policymaking around data centers and large loads
💭 Reflecting on the successes and lessons from community clean energy development and implementation
🏡 Exploring how clean energy technologies can help meet the needs of communities

Register today to get inspired by innovative ideas and connect with others who are creating community-driven solutions: https://nwenergy.org/fall-2026-conference/

Our Senior Policy Associate Ben Otto was recently on The Ranch podcast to talk about Idaho's energy challenges and solutions.

Watch:

#1,017 Solving Idaho's Energy Problems with Ben Otto Ben Otto is a senior policy associate with Renewable Northwest and ...