As You Sow: Climate - Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions

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Climate: Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions

IDACORP

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The May 2009 vote at IDACORP of 51% was the highest vote ever recorded for a climate change resolution and the first environmental resolution to receive a majority vote.

Click here to read the blog article of Fortune magazine's Marc Gunther, "A Historic Win for Green Shareholders."

Idaho Power gets the majority of its power from coal and was looking to expand its coal facilities until recently. Shareholders view a continued reliance on coal as both environmentally damaging and as a serious financial risk given that national climate-change legislation will impose significant taxes and caps on coal and other fossil fuels which emit green house gases.

The company is now seeking permission to build a new natural gas plant – yet natural gas is just another fossil fuel and will be greenhouse gas-taxed and -capped. Further, Idaho Power does not own any gas - all gas will have to be bought on the open market and will be susceptible to market fluctuations and competition. And while Idaho Power also gets a substantial amount of its energy from large-scale hydropower, it has not developed any non-hydro resources such as wind, solar, or geothermal - despite the fact that the 2007 Idaho Dept. of Energy plan indicated adequate renewable resource and efficiency opportunities within the state to handle all of Idaho Power’s needs over the next 20 years.

As You Sow’s position:

Increase Energy Efficiency: Energy efficiency practices such as giving incentives to irrigators to reduce peak energy use would cut summer peak capacity by more than total generating capacity of proposed natural gas plant
Reduce Reliance on Coal - Set Greenhouse Gas Reduction Targets: Idaho Power is generally perceived as opposing state or federal Renewable Portfolio Standards and delaying the development of viable non-hydro renewable projects such as wind, solar, and geothermal. Some of Idaho Power’s electric industry peers who have set absolute reduction targets include American Electric Power, the nation’s largest electric generator; Entergy; Duke Energy; Exelon; National Grid and Consolidated Edison. Those with intensity targets include CMS Energy, PSEG, NiSource and Pinnacle West.
Develop Renewable Energy Resources: As renewables grow in the energy market, the cost of getting them online continues to decrease. Studies have identified that Idaho has significant untapped resources for renewable energies. Wind resources alone have been estimated from 5594 to 18,000 MW – almost two to six times the state’s total expected load in 2015 of 3,242 MW. Biomass could contribute over 300 million gallons of fuel, Geothermal has the potential for 860 MW, and there are approximately 2100 MW of potential hydroelectric power untapped in the state.

As You Sow’s Actions

As You Sow filed a shareholder resolution at IDACORP (Idaho Power’s parent company) that won a majority vote calling on IDACORP to establish greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals and to report on its plans to meet them. This record-breaking vote of 51% is the highest vote ever recorded for a climate change resolution and the first environmental resolution to ever receive a majority vote! Click here to view our shareholder statement to the board and shareholders of IDACORP.

The company quickly responded to the majority shareholder vote and within months IDACORP’s board approved guidelines that establish a goal to reduce the carbon dioxide emission intensity of Idaho Power’s utility operations. The company committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 10-15% by 2013, announced its first wind energy projects, began a solar generation feasibility study, and received stimulus bill money for a Smart Grid project. The company has also improved its transparency by increasing disclosure in its 10-K report, submitted detailed information to the Carbon Disclosure Project, provided new GHG reduction scenarios for Idaho’s Integrated Resource Plan, and is creating an external advisory board on climate change issues.

Click here to read As You Sow's press release on our IDACORP victory. Also, click here to read a shareholder letter to the IDACORP President and our response to IdaCorp's proxy statement.

Our leadership on the IDACORP initiative won As You Sow the 2009 Climate Change Business Journal NGO Activist Achievement Award. Additionally, Associate Director Michael Passoff, who spearheaded the campaign, was named among the 100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics by Ethisphere Magazine.