At the March 3 public meeting, EWEB’s Board of Commissioners hosted Bonneville Power Administration’s Elliot Mainzer.
Electrification is a term for replacing direct fossil fuel use (e.g., natural gas, heating oil, gasoline) with electricity in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
EWEB is interested in renewable hydrogen because of its potential to help decarbonize energy sectors and provide resiliency in the event of a large-scale disaster in the Northwest.
The Eugene Water & Electric Board has received a new 40-year operating license for our largest utility-owned generation facility – the Carmen-Smith Hydroelectric Project on the upper McKenzie River. The new license, issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, will allow us to operate the carbon-free, renewable hydroelectric facility through at least May 2059. The project generates enough electricity to power nearly 16,000 homes.
Here in the Pacific Northwest, where we enjoy abundant, low-cost hydroelectric power, EVs are a smart economic choice and an important piece of the region's move away from fossil fuels.