Towards a Sustainable Energy Policy in the Intermountain North-Western United States

A Project by:

Kate Darby
Garrett Fitzgerald
Kristy Fruit
Kellie Hebert
Marybeth Phillis

CAUSE 2000





The need for the widespread use of renewable energy use is growing.  Petroleum products lead to increased emissions and possibly to global climate change.  Oil is not an endless resource and we are beginning to see that little is left.  Coal-burning energy technologies are often polluting and we will run out of coal soon, too.  Renewable energy technologies are the eventual solutions to this problem.  These technologies provide for the use of energy from the sun (photovoltaics, solar concentrators), wind (wind turbines), water (hydropower and tidal dams), and the earth (geothermal heat pumps, biofuels).  The application of these technologies depends on the location considered.  The implementation of renewable energy technologies depends on the resource potential, political and social climate, and existing energy structure of that locale.

To study how renewable energy technology can be applied, we chose the northwest United States.  We defined the region as Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming.  The states were chosen because of their varied geography, socioeconomic status, and energy structure.  The goal for this portion of the project was to study the past and current energy situation in each state and to gather general information about the states.  We wanted to gain a good understanding of the energy situations of each state in the region.  Next semester, we would like to examine methods to introduce more renewable energy into each state.  This compilation will serve as a sourcebook for that project.

Part 1: Washington

Part 2: Idaho

Part 3: Montana

Part 4: Wyoming

Part 5: Oregon

Conclusion