By Don C. Brunell, President, Association of Washington Business

For years, energy experts warned us that regulations and policies that reduce the supply of affordable conventional energy would result in higher prices for American families.

Now it is clear the warnings were well-founded. The USA Today recently reported that electricity bills have skyrocketed.  

The newspaper reports that American families paid, on average, a record $1,419 a year for electricity in 2010. Demand for electricity remains high even as energy supplies shrink. In addition, prices are rising due to the cost of meeting excessive EPA regulations that target conventional energy sources such as coal and oil.

The effect is being felt throughout the U.S.

In what’s labeled as an “environmental cost recovery,” Louisville Gas & Electric in Kentucky announced ratepayers will see their electric bills increase another 19.2 percent by 2016. In explaining the reason, LG&E spokesman Chip Keeling said, “The EPA is forcing utilities to do this. We don’t have a choice. It’s not a question of are we going to meet them. The question is when and how and how much money. ”

Those electricity rates are expected to go much higher as companies pay billions to replace older power plants and shut down existing coal-fired power plants that are too costly to retrofit.

Currently, half of the electricity used in the U.S. is generated from coal-fired power plants. But 10 percent of the nation’s coal energy is expected to go offline in the next four years, according to the Institute for Energy Research.

For example, the IER projects that three coal-fired plants in Michigan would be shut down because of EPA regulations by 2016, leading to brownouts and service interruptions.

Ironically, many of the same activists who oppose coal because of its emissions also oppose clean-coal technology projects to develop near-zero emission coal plants.

Progress on clean-coal technology in the U.S. has been painfully slow.

For example, the Future Gen project in Illinois was announced by President George W.  Bush in 2003 as a public-private partnership to build the world’s first near zero-emissions coal-fueled power plant. The 275-megawatt plant was intended to demonstrate the feasibility of producing electricity and hydrogen from coal while capturing and permanently storing carbon dioxide underground.

Today, almost nine years later, nothing has been built. In fact, the plant design has yet to be approved. The project has been stalled by political and bureaucratic delays, as well as Department of Energy changes in financing and design that prompted some private funders to back out of the project.

In contrast, China — which leads the world in clean-coal technology — plans, cites, designs and builds its new clean-coal plants in less than two years.

Why should we in Washington care? After all, our electricity rates are among the lowest in the nation, thanks to our abundant supply of hydropower.

Unfortunately, that advantage is about to disappear.

Initiative 937, approved by voters in 2006, requires large utilities to get increasingly larger portions of their electricity from costlier renewable sources, beginning next year. The writers of I-937 explicitly excluded hydropower from the list of allowable renewable energy sources.

That means that, beginning in 2012, Washington’s utilities will have to sell our cheaper hydropower to California and purchase higher-priced alternatives in order to meet their quota. The result: ever-increasing electricity rates. Opponents estimated I-937 would ultimately increase electricity rates in our state by as much as $370 million per year.

Our nation’s economic strength was fueled by an abundant supply of affordable energy. If we are to regain that strength, elected officials must actively pursue rational energy policies that embrace clean-coal technology and recognize that American families pay the price — literally — for bad energy policy.

The troubling future the experts warned us about is no longer simple conjecture.   It is here.

About the Author

Don Brunell is the president of the Association of Washington Business. Formed in 1904, the Association of Washington Business is Washington’s oldest and largest statewide business association, and includes more than 7,700 members representing 650,000 employees. AWB serves as both the state’s chamber of commerce and the manufacturing and technology association. While its membership includes major employers like Boeing, Microsoft and Weyerhaeuser, 90 percent of AWB members employ fewer than 100 people. More than half of AWB’s members employ fewer than 10. For more about AWB, visit www.awb.org.

EE Founder, Joe “The Connector” Kennedy said “I’m so happy that the good people at the Seattle Chamber have once again invited Eastside Entrepreneurs and all area chambers and business groups to participate in this great event at a fantastic venue.  I sure hope to see more Eastside chambers, business organizations and their members participate this year – it would be great to see all of them and have a really awesome showing for the Eastside.  After all, as the Seattle Chamber says ‘It’s Time for Business‘ .”

The Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with local governments and economic development agencies, today launched the first-ever comprehensive survey of businesses across the four-county Puget Sound region.

The four-county “Job Sector Survey” builds on a 2010 survey that captured responses from nearly 1,200 King County businesses in 15 unique industry sectors. Along with benchmarking against the 2010 results, the 2011 Job Sector Survey will provide a richer illustration of the challenges, aspirations and opportunities for employers of all types and sizes. As in 2010, the data will be used as a guide for elected officials, policy-makers and community leaders when making decisions that impact the local economy.

Any business or organization with operations in the four-county area is encouraged to take the survey. The survey is accessible via seattlechamber.com and partner organizations will send invitations to participate beginning today. Responses will be collected until August 11. Each survey respondent will be entered to win two Southwest Airlines Green LUV tickets.

“The more businesses that return the survey, the better we can understand how to grow jobs in our region and get people back to work,” said King County Executive Dow Constantine. “An accurate picture of what it takes to attract new businesses and support the businesses that are here will help us in government foster the climate for a prosperous and sustainable economy.”

“Our region needs to have a united front if we are going to compete on the world stage,” said Phil Bussey, president & CEO of the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce. “The four-county Job Sector Survey gives us incredible insights for a shared agenda that leverages our strengths and addresses potential pitfalls inhibiting our success.”

Along with King County and the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce, the survey is supported by the Prosperity Partnership, the Workforce Development Council of Seattle-King County, enterpriseSeattle, the Economic Alliance Snohomish County, the Pierce County Economic Development Division, the Kitsap Economic Development Alliance, The Seattle Times and the City of Seattle’s Office of Economic Development.

 “The Job Sector Survey is unique because it provides broad data about the health of our regional economy while allowing us to drill down on conditions specific to job sectors and geographic locations,” said Bob Drewel, executive director of the Puget Sound Regional Council.

“The Job Sector Survey helps us answer two questions vitally important to growing our economy. First, what does your business need in order to be successful here? Second, what is our community’s unique value proposition to business?  Knowing the answer to these questions allows us to alleviate obstacles and deliver the appropriate message to companies considering locating operations here,” said Jeff Marcell, president of enterpriseSeattle.

“Seattle has such a unique mixture of industry sectors and clusters. For us, this survey helps the city understand how we can best use our resources to support their growth,” said Steve Johnson, director of the City of Seattle’s Office of Economic Development.

A portion of the survey focuses on degrees, vocational training and skills needed by employers. “Having information on what employers need by sector is essential to the development and implementation of training programs. With it, we can equip those entering the workforce as well as those already in it with the right tools for success,” said Marléna Sessions, CEO of the Workforce Development Council of Seattle-King County.

                Since multiple organizations will be sending invitations, a single employer may get the survey from several sources. To verify data, participants will be asked to provide contact information. These details will remain confidential and no attribution to individuals will be made.

Additional partners are welcome. For details, contact George Allen at the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce at georgea@seattlechamber.com or (206) 389-7268.

Summer is a time when children are out of school and many are busy enjoying family vacations and summer camps. Unfortunately, even here on the Eastside, there are many less fortunate who are often forgotten – especially during the summer months.

To help ensure Renewal Food Bank is continually stocked for the hundreds of families served each week, there are a growing number of local businesses and organizations joining in to take part in the Eastside Year Round Sustainable Food and Fund Drive.

A few events happening this month to benefit WIN’s Renewal Food Bank include:

June 1 – Eastside Women in Business Monthly Luncheon
McCormick & Schmick’s, 700 Bellevue Way NE, Bellevue  12:30 – 2:30pm
EWIB will be collecting non-perishable food items for the food bank.

June 1-3 Renewal Food Bank FUNdraiser at California Pizza Kitchen in Bellevue. CPK will donate 20% of all bills of diners with the special flyer (available at www.worldimpactnetwork.org).  Readers are encouraged to print the flyer and/or share it with friends and family.

June 23 – Real Estate Association of Puget Sound (REAPS) will be collecting food at their annual membership drive meeting at the Sheraton Hotel in Bellevue.

June – August – Woodinville Weekly is collecting food for Renewal Food Bank during the entire summer!

There is a desperate need for other leading Eastside businesses and organizations to step up and adopt a month to give back to our local community by helping Renewal Food Bank.  Help during the coming summer months is especially crucial and appreciated.  To participate send an email to Joe(at)RenewalFoodBank.org.

Food Bank Heroes
who are already participating: (updated 5/31/11)

Businesses – please support these businesses and organizations who are involved in helping our community:

Heritage Bank – Bellevue – MAY
Macy’s Bellevue Square - Macy’s Community Shopping Day – MAY 14
Sterling Savings Home Loan Division – Bellevue – MAY
California Pizza Kitchen – Bellevue – JUNE 1-3
Woodinville Weekly – Woodinville – JUNE-AUGUST
Pande Cameron Fine Carpets – Bellevue - SEPTEMBER

Organizations:

Eastside Entrepreneurs – MAY
Eastside Women in Business – JUNE (collecting food at June 1st luncheon)
Real Estate Association of Puget Sound (REAPS) – JUNE (collecting at June 23rd membership event)
Eastside Business Association – SEPTEMBER

For your business or organization to participate in the Eastside Year Round Sustainable Food and Fund Drive, contact Joe Kennedy at Joe(at)RenewalFoodBank.org or 425-213-4176.

Renewal Food Bank mission:  To feed the hungry in East King County in an environment of caring service and dignity.

About Renewal Food Bank: Established in May of 1998, Renewal Food Bank is located in Bellevue, Washington. We are part of the Northwest Harvest Hunger Relief Network and a partner agency of Food Lifeline. Since opening our doors we have fed well over 240,000 individuals and continue to feed approximately 175-220 families each week. The food bank was started in keeping with WIN’s vision to strengthen communities.  More info can be found at www.Facebook.com/RenewalFoodBank or www.RenewalFoodBank.org

By 2025, the TransAlta energy facility in Centralia must replace coal with natural gas to generate electricity, but Washington has no gas to offer. Fortunately, we have neighbors with an abundance of gas — natural gas, that is — to ship to us.

In Washington, three-quarters of our electricity comes from hydropower. But 14 percent of it comes from coal burned at the TransAlta facility, which employs 600 people in good family-wage jobs and provides heat and light for 1.23 million homes.  We must replace that coal with another type of fuel, and the energy source of choice these days is natural gas.

Natural gas already plays a major role in serving homes, hospitals, schools and retail centers in Washington. Bellevue-based Puget Sound Energy serves nearly 750,000 natural gas customers in parts of Snohomish, King, Pierce, Lewis, Thurston and Kittitas counties. On the east side of our state, Spokane-based Avista serves nearly 147,000 natural gas customers.

As our population continues to grow from an estimated 6.5 million today to 8.2 million in 2025, Washington will need more natural gas and electricity, but from where?

The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission reports that currently half of our natural gas supply comes from British Columbia and Alberta; the remainder comes from Rocky Mountain production sites, primarily in Wyoming.  Our state will rely on those suppliers and may also see an infusion of natural gas from Alaska’s North Slope and possibly from liquid natural gas if a suitable port and an accompanying pipeline receive permits.

As electric utilities across the country face eliminating coal while meeting growing energy needs, the demand for natural gas around the nation will continue to rise.

Coal, which accounts for nearly half the power production in our nation, is considered a “dirty” fuel because of the greenhouse gases, sulfur and mercury emitted during burning. Even though TransAlta has significantly reduced its emissions, the Legislature bowed to public pressure and decided to accelerate the conversion to natural gas.

While most view natural gas as a desirable environmental alternative, much of what is called “conventional” gas is drying up. Conventional gas is where producers drill wells and tap gas pockets or formations where it flows freely to the surface.

A new wave of “unconventional” gas is filling the void. Newer horizontal deep drilling is opening up deposits which can be 10,000 feet or more beneath the surface.

This gas is in shale basins that must be fractured or broken apart and injected with water and chemicals so the gas can flow to surface. While none of those shale formations are located in our state, they are prevalent in northwest Canada and in massive formations that run diagonally from Texas to upper New York state and on into eastern Canada.

Last month, London’s online version of the Guardian newspaper reported that, in the next 10 years, the U.S. will use fracturing technology or “fracking,” which President Obama favors, to drill hundreds of thousands of wells in cities, rivers and watersheds. Both drilling and fracking are fast expanding across Europe, South Africa and Russia, as well.

But local resistance to the increased drilling is beginning to surface in upper New York, Pennsylvania and in Quebec. The rub is the sight of drilling rigs, chemicals used in the fracking process and potential groundwater contamination.

However, what may be even more troubling is scientists are learning that the new natural gas may emit equivalent levels of greenhouse gases as burning coal. Gas conversion may not be the win-win lawmakers trumpeted.

So, while it is good to have neighbors blessed with abundant gas, our elected officials must understand that there is no panacea.  All fuel sources, whether natural gas, solar, nuclear, crude oil, wind power, hydro, geo-thermal and even coal, have their good and bad points.

About the Author

Don Brunell is the president of the Association of Washington Business. Formed in 1904, the Association of Washington Business is Washington’s oldest and largest statewide business association, and includes more than 7,400 members representing 650,000 employees. AWB serves as both the state’s chamber of commerce and the manufacturing and technology association. While its membership includes major employers like Boeing, Microsoft and Weyerhaeuser, 90 percent of AWB members employ fewer than 100 people. More than half of AWB’s members employ fewer than 10. For more about AWB, visit www.awb.org.

Now in its eight season, the Greater Seattle Chamber’s business-to-business tradeshow returns on Wednesday, May 11. The cast includes established stars—such as Costco and Microsoft—as well as rising stars and fresh new faces. Add to that, fabulous food—and maybe even a little drama as attendees compete for prizes—and you have a must-see event!

Who:

150 local businesses will show off their products and services to approximately 1,500 attendees

What:

The 8^th Annual Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce Tradeshow

When:

Wed, May 11, 2010

3:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Where:

WaMu Theatre at Qwest Field Events Center

800 Occidental Ave. S, Seattle 98104

General registration at seattlechamber.com/tradeshow. Tickets cost only $10 per person and the event is open to all local business people.

Other businesses and organizations are encouraged to step up to get on the calendar and share in this vital community stewardship.  Individuals are encouraged to hold fund and food drives as well.  As time goes on, measures of success will set and healthy competition can occur for the benefit of the cause.  We hope to see fund raising competitions between companies, imagine competition for good between Microsoft vs Google? Albertsons vs Safeway vs QFC vs Whole Foods? Bellevue Collection vs The Bravern?  Crossroads Mall vs Factoria Mall?  Daniel’s vs John Howie Steak vs Ruths Chris?

Renewal Food Bank also has a piggy bank change collection program and partnership with Coinstar to count the donations.  Donors are provided with plastic piggy banks, which they fill up with their spare change – either on a counter at shop or restaurant, in the company employee lounge next to the vending machines, or on an employee’s nightstand at home.  Renewal Food Bank is very happy to provide the piggy banks to all members of any group, business or organization that what to help support their local food bank and help their neighbors through community service.  Schools, churches and large corporations have proven to be extra successful in these collections and are encouraged to participate as a way to make a HUGE difference in people’s lives right here in our community.

Food Bank Heroes and Food Bank Hero of the Month

Each and every participant in the Year Round Eastside Sustainable Food Drive will be an instant Food Bank Hero and the single person, business or organization that makes the biggest impact each month on WIN’s Renewal Food Bank and our efforts to end hunger on the Eastside, will be the Renewal Food Bank Hero of the Month, be awarded a plaque and have your photo taken for the Renewal Food Bank Facebook page.

For more information, or to sign up to join in the Year Round Eastside Sustainable Food Drive, please ‘Like” Renewal Food Bank and World Impact Network on Facebook and contact Joe Kennedy, Joe(at)RenewalFoodBank.org or call 425-213-4176.  We will need to know the name of group, business or individual, number of people in group, contact person, contact information, month(s) desired to help collect food and funds and if you will need collection bins/barrels and/or piggy banks for collecting coins.  Thank you so much for your support of World Impact Network’s Renewal Food Bank and our mission of feeding the hungry in East King County in an environment of caring service and dignity.

To be successful in the quest to end hunger here at home, we will need to build countless strong partnerships – with media partners, with other non-profit groups, with networking groups, with bloggers, marketers and social media all-stars.  PLEASE join us!  We will need A LOT of help and if we are going to end world hunger, it needs to start right here, right now.  EASTSIDERS CAN DO ANYTHING – EVEN END HUNGER!

“The passage of Senate Bill 5566 is a positive step forward for job creation, economic development, employers ― public, private and non-profits ― and workers.  The debate over workers’ compensation has gone on far too long and it is time to enact meaningful reforms that have been the subject of exhaustive studies,” said Brunell. “We encourage the House to quickly approve this legislation as well.”

“This is a balanced bill that is good for workers and employers alike. Both sides win under this legislation.  Costs continue to go up, yet injured worker claims are actually down, and our workers’ compensation system is on the verge of collapse. That’s why we need reform now, and this is a great step toward that goal.”

The evidence is compelling.  Washington’s workers’ compensation is heading toward failure if the legislature doesn’t enact meaningful reforms this year. The State Auditor has issued insolvency warnings for the medical aid and accident funds in the next five years, and the pension rate has doubled in the last 10 years. Consider that in 2009, the state awarded 1,542 permanent disability pensions, yet nearby Oregon awarded just 13.

Senate Bill 5566 would go a long way toward resolving claims in a more timely fashion while still maintaining benefit levels, Brunell said. The measure provides a new, flexible benefit option for workers to voluntarily settle workers’ comp claims, as is done in 44 other states.

“We’re halfway through the legislative session. Lawmakers are already grappling with a multi-billion dollar deficit that will consume their full attention between now and the end of session. They should do what it takes to put this issue to rest now, and save the remainder of session to iron out differences on the budget,” said Brunell.

“Workers’ compensation reform is vital to the overall health of the state and its citizens. It deserves to be a stand-alone issue and not wrapped up in the end-of-session mechanics,” concluded Brunell. “This is a good bill for workers and employers. We need to keep it moving forward.”

About the Association of Washington Business
Formed in 1904, the Association of Washington Business is Washington’s oldest and largest statewide business association, and includes more than 7,350+ members representing 650,000 employees. AWB serves as both the state’s chamber of commerce and the manufacturing and technology association. While its membership includes major employers like Boeing, Microsoft and Weyerhaeuser, 90 percent of AWB members employ fewer than 100 people. More than half of AWB’s members employ fewer than 10. For more about AWB, visit www.awb.org.

enterpriseSeattle provides one-on-one, confidential consulting services, free-of-charge, to individual businesses seeking to establish, expand, or relocate to King County and its 39 cities. The organization currently targets the aerospace, IT, life science, and clean technology industry sectors with an additional focus on foreign direct investment.

“These new offices underscore the important work that we’re doing throughout the County and insures that our team of economic development professionals is embedded across the community,” said Jeff Marcell, President and CEO of enterpriseSeattle. “Our group has logged a lot of miles traveling the County. This new strategy of dividing our time among the three locations allows us to be more efficient with our resources and build even more collaboration throughout the region.”

“The MBA has been a long-standing supporter of enterpriseSeattle and its efforts to build a stronger, more vibrant regional economy,” said Sam Anderson, CEO of the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties and two term enterpriseSeattle Chair.  “Their work is good for our members, good for our area businesses and good for our communities. We are very pleased to host their offices on the Eastside and facilitate the great service they provide.”

“We have a wonderful partnership with enterpriseSeattle in the Cascadia MedTech Accelerator,” said Jack Dovey, City of Federal Way Councilmember.  “They have done a tremendous amount for South King County, and having part of their team here on a regular basis has been exceptional for Federal Way and the South King County region.”

About enterpriseSeattle
Founded in 1971, enterpriseSeattle, formerly known as the Economic Development Council of Seattle and King County, is an economic development partnership charged with the mission of building a competitive, world-class economy in King County and its 39 cities. Funded through a combination of private and public investment, the organization provides one-on-one, confidential consulting services, free-of-charge, to businesses seeking to establish, expand, or relocate to the area. For more information, visit www.enterpriseSeattle.org.

Editor’s Note:  If enterpriseSeattle is really intent on serving the entire region (including Bellevue and the Eastside of Lake Washington) – shouldn’t their name reflect it?  Do you think it is possible for this group to serve the interests of Seattle and the communities on the Eastside of the lake?

In Olympia, some lawmakers want to speed up the closure of the TransAlta coal-fired electricity plant near Centralia. They want to toss out the negotiated settlement Gov. Gregoire put in place to gradually replace coal with natural gas over the next decade.

It’s part of an anti-coal hysteria that ignores key facts that affect our economy, families, factories, hospitals and schools.

First, activists ignore the fact that, even if we reach our energy conservation and renewable energy goals for 2035, we’ll still need to generate the same percentage of electricity from coal. Today, 48 percent comes from coal, and the U.S. Energy Information Administration projects it will be 45 percent in 2035.

In Washington, three-quarters of our electricity comes from hydropower. But 14 percent of it comes from TransAlta, which employs 600 people in good family-wage jobs and provides heat and light for 1.23 million homes.

How would activists replace those jobs and that electricity if they shut down TransAlta? Wind and solar energy won’t get us there. So the vexing unanswered question is, what will?

Second, activists ignore the fact that not all coal is the same. For example, coal from eastern Montana and central Wyoming — the coal the Chinese covet — is low in sulfur. TransAlta uses that western coal at its Centralia plant and has spent more than $235 million to control greenhouse gases and other emissions.

Third, activists fail to mention that President Obama supports investments in clean coal technology. Shortly after his inauguration as part of his New Energy for America plan, he called for development of five commercial-scale coal plants to capture and store carbon dioxide.

But while Americans fight over the future of coal-fired plants, China is investing heavily in clean coal technology. China, which uses more coal than the United States, Europe and Japan combined, has its share of older coal-fired power plants, but its newer facilities are among the world’s most efficient.

Consider that over the last three years, China has led the world in turning coal into synthetic gas, which powers electricity-producing turbines, a method that produces a fraction of the pollutants of conventional plants.

China still has a severe pollution problem from its old coal-fired plants, but it is moving in the right direction. Meanwhile, we in the U.S. seem stalled. As The Atlantic magazine reported in its December 2010 issue, China has built many coal-to-gas conversion plants, but over the last 30 years, the U.S. has built exactly… none.

Onerous regulations are part of the problem. The Atlantic article quotes a U.S. governmental official as saying, “In America, it takes a decade to get a permit for a plant. [In China], they build the whole thing in 21 months.”

The United States is blessed with an abundance of coal, and exporting coal can generate jobs, chip away at our trade deficit and help move us substantially toward energy independence. Building clean coal plants in our country will put people to work and allow us to export our expertise and technology around the world.

The debate over America’s energy policy must be realistic. As Julio Friedman of the Lawrence Livermore Labs points out, wind and solar power will never supply our energy needs. “Solar and wind power are going to be important, but it is really hard to get them beyond 10 percent of total power supply.”

So, until nuclear power, which produces no greenhouse gases, becomes the world’s main energy source, the question is not whether to use coal but how to use it better.

About the Author
Don Brunell is the president of the Association of Washington Business. Formed in 1904, the Association of Washington Business is Washington’s oldest and largest statewide business association, and includes more than 7,300 members representing 650,000 employees. AWB serves as both the state’s chamber of commerce and the manufacturing and technology association. While its membership includes major employers like Boeing, Microsoft and Weyerhaeuser, 90 percent of AWB members employ fewer than 100 people. More than half of AWB’s members employ fewer than 10. For more about AWB, visit www.awb.org.