The Economist reports "a case of favoritism towards electricity generated by federal dams" in the Columbia River basin, a stretch of land that encompasses Oregon, Washington state, Idaho, and western Montana.
As a nonprofit agency under the umbrella of the U.S. Department of Energy, the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) sells electricity generated by 31 federal dams in the Pacific Northwest.
Last month, the company "took all the region's wind turbines offline for about five hours and it expects to continue to pull the plug on them for a few hours almost every night until well into July, when enough snow in the Cascades and northern Rockies will have melted for the excess run-off (and therefore the excess power) to subside."
This radical course of action, in turn, triggered a litany of formal complaints from the wind power companies that spent upward of $100 million on wind turbines to serve the region's electricity needs.
"[T]he wind lobby is howling about government perfidy," The Economist reports.
FULL STORY: Renewable energy in the north-west

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

Defunct Pittsburgh Power Plant to Become Residential Tower
A decommissioned steam heat plant will be redeveloped into almost 100 affordable housing units.

Trump Prompts Restructuring of Transportation Research Board in “Unprecedented Overreach”
The TRB has eliminated more than half of its committees including those focused on climate, equity, and cities.

Amtrak Rolls Out New Orleans to Alabama “Mardi Gras” Train
The new service will operate morning and evening departures between Mobile and New Orleans.
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