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IoT devices will be the catalyst for the 4th industrial revolution

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Thursday, September 26, 2024

By the end of the year, there will be an estimated 207 billion or more Internet of Things (IoT) devices with a large percentage within industrial environments. As industries across the globe grapple with the challenges of modern manufacturing and production, the rise of IoT promises to revolutionize industrial automation. Automation is not only enhancing productivity but redefining what is possible in modern manufacturing. As we delve deeper into the realms of industrial automation, it’s clear that the advancement of IoT devices is not just incremental—it is transformative. If companies continue to invest in this technology, IoT devices are poised to redefine the landscape of industrial automation, driving unprecedented levels of efficiency, sustainability, and innovation. Revolutionize efficiency IoT devices are at the forefront of a new era in industrial automation, where efficiency is paramount. From manufacturing floors to supply chains, IoT devices are optimizing processes, reducing downtime, and improving cost savings. Additionally, companies are now able to monitor equipment performance, predict maintenance needs, and streamline operations with unprecedented accuracy. For instance, sensors embedded in manufacturing equipment can detect anomalies and predict failures before they occur, allowing for timely maintenance that minimizes disruption. Beyond operational benefits, IoT plays a crucial role in promoting sustainability and environmental responsibility in industrial automation. Smart sensors and monitoring systems enable precise tracking of resource usage, such as energy, water, and raw materials, allowing for real-time adjustments that minimize waste and reduce overall consumption. As industries increasingly adopt IoT technologies, the potential for achieving sustainability goals while maintaining high levels of productivity becomes more attainable. By enabling predictive maintenance, IoT technology also allows businesses to anticipate equipment failures and perform timely repairs, thus avoiding costly downtime and extending the lifespan of machinery. Furthermore, the real-time data analytics provided by IoT devices optimize supply chain management, reduce inventory costs, and improve operational efficiency. As industries continue to embrace IoT, the cumulative effect of these cost savings contributes to a more competitive and financially robust industrial sector. IoT’s impact on product quality As industrial automation continues to evolve, IoT devices are becoming pivotal in enhancing product quality across various sectors. In fact, Deloitte highlighted that manufacturers utilizing IoT-driven automation saw a 10% to 35% improvement in product quality and a 20% to 30% reduction in maintenance costs. By integrating IoT sensors and analytics into production processes, manufacturers gain unprecedented insights into every stage of production, from raw material handling to final product assembly. These devices can detect minute variations in production parameters, such as temperature, pressure, and humidity, that could affect the quality of the finished product. The impact of IoT on product quality is not just reactive but also proactive. IoT-enabled traceability systems ensure that every component of a product can be tracked from its origin to the final assembly, ensuring full compliance with industry standards and regulations. Plus, automated systems can monitor and adjust energy usage in real-time, leading to more efficient operations that lower the overall carbon footprint of a facility. By minimizing energy waste, companies will contribute to a more sustainable environment while also realizing substantial cost savings. These savings can be reinvested into research and development, driving innovation and enhancing product quality. In return, compliance eliminates unnecessary product waste and energy consumption, which then lowers the final cost for consumers while heightening brand reputation. The future of industrial automation The established benefits of an automated industrial structure are only a preview of the future. One of the most significant advancements for industrial automation is the integration of AI and machine learning with IoT systems. By combining the real-time data collection capabilities of IoT devices with AI-driven analytics, IoT technologies can be leveraged to enable the seamless integration of clean energy sources into industrial operations. Solar, wind, and other renewable energy sources can be efficiently managed through smart grids and automated systems that balance the energy load, ensuring that clean energy is utilized to its fullest potential. For instance, during peak sunlight hours, automated systems can prioritize solar energy, while at times of low renewable output, they can switch to stored energy or other alternative sources. In tandem with AI-fueled automation, autonomous systems and robotics powered by IoT are set to revolutionize industrial operations. Robots equipped with IoT sensors can perform complex tasks with precision and flexibility, operating autonomously in environments that would be hazardous or challenging for human workers. These IoT-enabled robots can communicate with each other and with central control systems, coordinating their actions to optimize workflows and enhance productivity. Whether in assembly lines, warehousing, or transportation, the deployment of IoT-powered autonomous systems is streamlining operations, reducing costs, and paving the way for fully automated factories of the future. As we stand on the brink of a new era in industrial automation, the integration of IoT, AI, and robotics promises to transform industries in ways we could only imagine a decade ago. This convergence of cutting-edge technologies offers a hopeful vision for the future—a future where industrial processes are smarter, more agile, and profoundly more connected. Svetlin Todorov is cofounder of Shelly Group and CEO of Shelly U.S.A.

Automation is not only enhancing productivity but redefining what is possible in modern manufacturing. As we delve deeper into the realms of industrial automation, it’s clear that the advancement of IoT devices is not just incremental—it is transformative. If companies continue to invest in this technology, IoT devices are poised to redefine the landscape of industrial automation, driving unprecedented levels of efficiency, sustainability, and innovation.

Revolutionize efficiency

IoT devices are at the forefront of a new era in industrial automation, where efficiency is paramount. From manufacturing floors to supply chains, IoT devices are optimizing processes, reducing downtime, and improving cost savings. Additionally, companies are now able to monitor equipment performance, predict maintenance needs, and streamline operations with unprecedented accuracy. For instance, sensors embedded in manufacturing equipment can detect anomalies and predict failures before they occur, allowing for timely maintenance that minimizes disruption.

Beyond operational benefits, IoT plays a crucial role in promoting sustainability and environmental responsibility in industrial automation. Smart sensors and monitoring systems enable precise tracking of resource usage, such as energy, water, and raw materials, allowing for real-time adjustments that minimize waste and reduce overall consumption. As industries increasingly adopt IoT technologies, the potential for achieving sustainability goals while maintaining high levels of productivity becomes more attainable.

By enabling predictive maintenance, IoT technology also allows businesses to anticipate equipment failures and perform timely repairs, thus avoiding costly downtime and extending the lifespan of machinery. Furthermore, the real-time data analytics provided by IoT devices optimize supply chain management, reduce inventory costs, and improve operational efficiency. As industries continue to embrace IoT, the cumulative effect of these cost savings contributes to a more competitive and financially robust industrial sector.

IoT’s impact on product quality

As industrial automation continues to evolve, IoT devices are becoming pivotal in enhancing product quality across various sectors. In fact, Deloitte highlighted that manufacturers utilizing IoT-driven automation saw a 10% to 35% improvement in product quality and a 20% to 30% reduction in maintenance costs. By integrating IoT sensors and analytics into production processes, manufacturers gain unprecedented insights into every stage of production, from raw material handling to final product assembly. These devices can detect minute variations in production parameters, such as temperature, pressure, and humidity, that could affect the quality of the finished product.

The impact of IoT on product quality is not just reactive but also proactive. IoT-enabled traceability systems ensure that every component of a product can be tracked from its origin to the final assembly, ensuring full compliance with industry standards and regulations. Plus, automated systems can monitor and adjust energy usage in real-time, leading to more efficient operations that lower the overall carbon footprint of a facility. By minimizing energy waste, companies will contribute to a more sustainable environment while also realizing substantial cost savings. These savings can be reinvested into research and development, driving innovation and enhancing product quality. In return, compliance eliminates unnecessary product waste and energy consumption, which then lowers the final cost for consumers while heightening brand reputation.

The future of industrial automation

The established benefits of an automated industrial structure are only a preview of the future. One of the most significant advancements for industrial automation is the integration of AI and machine learning with IoT systems. By combining the real-time data collection capabilities of IoT devices with AI-driven analytics, IoT technologies can be leveraged to enable the seamless integration of clean energy sources into industrial operations. Solar, wind, and other renewable energy sources can be efficiently managed through smart grids and automated systems that balance the energy load, ensuring that clean energy is utilized to its fullest potential. For instance, during peak sunlight hours, automated systems can prioritize solar energy, while at times of low renewable output, they can switch to stored energy or other alternative sources.

In tandem with AI-fueled automation, autonomous systems and robotics powered by IoT are set to revolutionize industrial operations. Robots equipped with IoT sensors can perform complex tasks with precision and flexibility, operating autonomously in environments that would be hazardous or challenging for human workers. These IoT-enabled robots can communicate with each other and with central control systems, coordinating their actions to optimize workflows and enhance productivity. Whether in assembly lines, warehousing, or transportation, the deployment of IoT-powered autonomous systems is streamlining operations, reducing costs, and paving the way for fully automated factories of the future.

As we stand on the brink of a new era in industrial automation, the integration of IoT, AI, and robotics promises to transform industries in ways we could only imagine a decade ago. This convergence of cutting-edge technologies offers a hopeful vision for the future—a future where industrial processes are smarter, more agile, and profoundly more connected.

Svetlin Todorov is cofounder of Shelly Group and CEO of Shelly U.S.A.

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Louisiana's $3B Power Upgrade for Meta Project Raises Questions About Who Should Foot the Bill

Meta is racing to construct its largest data center yet, a $10 billion facility in northeast Louisiana as big as 70 football fields and requiring more than twice the electricity of New Orleans

HOLLY RIDGE, La. (AP) — In a rural corner of Louisiana, Meta is building one of the world's largest data centers, a $10 billion behemoth as big as 70 football fields that will consume more power in a day than the entire city of New Orleans at the peak of summer.While the colossal project is impossible to miss in Richland Parish, a farming community of 20,000 residents, not everything is visible, including how much the social media giant will pay toward the more than $3 billion in new electricity infrastructure needed to power the facility. Watchdogs have warned that in the rush to capitalize on the AI-driven data center boom, some states are allowing massive tech companies to direct expensive infrastructure projects with limited oversight.Mississippi lawmakers allowed Amazon to bypass regulatory approval for energy infrastructure to serve two data centers it is spending $10 billion to build. In Indiana, a utility is proposing a data center-focused subsidiary that operates outside normal state regulations. And while Louisiana says it has added consumer safeguards, it lags behind other states in its efforts to insulate regular power consumers from data center-related costs. Mandy DeRoche, an attorney for the environmental advocacy group Earthjustice, says there is less transparency due to confidentiality agreements and rushed approvals.“You can’t follow the facts, you can’t follow the benefits or the negative impacts that could come to the service area or to the community,” DeRoche said. Private deals for public power supply Under contract with Meta, power company Entergy agreed to build three gas-powered plants that would produce 2,262 megawatts — equivalent to a fifth of Entergy's current power supply in Louisiana. The Public Service Commission approved Meta’s infrastructure plan in August after Entergy agreed to bolster protections to prevent a spike in residential rates.Nonetheless, nondisclosure agreements conceal how much Meta will pay.Consumer advocates tried but failed to compel Meta to provide sworn testimony, submit to discovery and face cross-examination during a regulatory review. Regulators reviewed Meta’s contract with Entergy, but were barred from revealing details. Meta did not address AP’s questions about transparency, while Louisiana's economic development agency and Entergy say nondisclosure agreements are standard to protect sensitive commercial data. Davante Lewis — the only one of five public service commissioners to vote against the plan — said he's still unclear how much electricity the center will use, if gas-powered plants are the most economical option nor if it will create the promised 500 jobs. “There’s certain information we should know and need to know but don’t have,” Lewis said. Additionally, Meta is exempt from paying sales tax under a 2024 Louisiana law that the state acknowledges could lead to “tens of millions of dollars or more each year” in lost revenue.Meta has agreed to fund about half the cost of building the power plants over 15 years, including cost overruns, but not maintenance and operation, said Logan Burke, executive director of the Alliance for Affordable Energy, a consumer advocacy group. Public Service Commission Jean-Paul Coussan insists there will be “very little” impact on ratepayers.But watchdogs warn Meta could pull out of or not renew its contract, leaving the public to pay for the power plants over the rest of their 30-year life span, and all grid users are expected to help pay for the $550 million transmission line serving Meta’s facility.Ari Peskoe, director of Harvard University’s Electricity Law Initiative, said tech companies should be required to pay “every penny so the public is not left holding the bag.” How is this tackled in other states? Elsewhere, tech companies are not being given such leeway. More than a dozen states have taken steps to protect households and business ratepayers from paying for rising electricity costs tied to energy-hungry data centers. Pennsylvania’s utilities commission is drafting a model rate structure to insulate customers from rising costs related to data centers. New Jersey’s utilities regulators are studying whether data centers cause “unreasonable” cost increases for other users. Oregon passed legislation this year ordering utilities regulators to develop new, and likely higher, power rates for data centers. Locals have mixed feelings Some Richland Parish residents fear a boom-and-bust cycle once construction ends. Others expect a boost in school and health care funding. 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Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See – Sept. 2025

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California’s marijuana industry gets a break under new law suspending tax hike

California's legal weed industry is still overshadowed by the larger black market. A new state law gives businesses a break by delaying a tax increase.

In summary California’s legal weed industry is still overshadowed by the larger black market. A new state law gives businesses a break by delaying a tax increase. Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday signed a bill to roll back taxes on recreational weed in an effort to give some relief to an industry that has struggled to supersede its illicit counterpart since voters legalized marijuana almost 10 years ago. The law will temporarily revert the cannabis excise tax to 15% until 2028, suspending an increase to 19% levied earlier this year. The law is meant to help dispensaries that proponents say are operating under slim margins due to being bogged down by years of overregulation. “We’re rolling back this cannabis tax hike so the legal market can continue to grow, consumers can access safe products, and our local communities see the benefits,” Newsom said in a statement, and that reducing the tax will allow legal businesses to remain competitive and boost their long-term growth. An excise tax is a levy imposed by the state before sales taxes are applied. It’s applied to the cannabis industry under a 2022 agreement between the state and marijuana companies. It replaced a different kind of fee that was supposed to raise revenue for social programs, such as child care assistance, in accordance with the 2016 ballot measure that legalized cannabis. For years, the cannabis industry has lobbied against the tax, arguing that it hurts an industry overshadowed by a thriving illicit drug market. “By stopping this misguided tax hike, the governor and Legislature chose smart policy that grows revenue by keeping the legal market viable instead of driving consumers back to dangerous, untested illicit products,” Amy O’Gorman, executive director of the California Cannabis Operators Association, said in a statement. Since its legalization, the recreational weed industry has struggled to outpace the illegal market as farmers flooded the industry and prices began to drop. Taxable cannabis sales have slowly declined since their peak in the second quarter of 2021 of more than $1.5 billion to $1.2 billion four years later, according to data from the state Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Legal sales make up about 40% of all weed consumption, according to the state Department of Cannabis Control. Several nonprofits that receive grants through the tax opposed the bill, arguing that it will threaten services for low-income children, substance abuse programs and environmental protections. In the Emerald Triangle, where the heartland of the industry lies nestled in the northern corner of the state, conservation organizations said they were disappointed in the governor and that it was a step backwards for addressing environmental degradation caused by illegal growers in years past. “All this bill does is reduce the resources we have to remedy the harms of the illegal market,” said Alicia Hamann, executive director of Friends of the Eel River in Humboldt County. Many nonprofits supported spiking other fees in agreement with lawmakers and industry groups that the excise tax would be increased three years later, Hamann said. “It feels a little bit like a stab in the back,” she said.

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World, Business Leaders Hope to Keep Momentum in Fight Against Climate Change Despite US

Hundreds of world and business leaders are gathering to keep the fight against climate change alive

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. government is going in the other direction. Temperatures keep rising. More extreme weather is sweeping across the world. Yet hundreds of leaders from government and business are in New York this week to keep the fight against climate change alive. Amid fracture and despair, they are emphasizing progress and hope.More than 110 world leaders will speak at a special U.N. climate summit Wednesday designed to get nations to strengthen their required — but already late — plans to wean themselves from the coal, oil and natural gas that causes climate change. Dozens of business leaders are in the city networking in various conferences aimed at greener and cleaner energy.“We’re here to power on. In the end, we either will have a livable planet or we won’t,” said Helen Clarkson, CEO of The Climate Group, kicking off New York City Climate Week and its more than 1,000 events. “It’s an uphill struggle, but we know we don’t have a choice. It’s up to us to protect what we love.”But on Monday, as leaders talked about stronger national plans and reduction in fossil fuel emissions, Climate Action Tracker, an independent group of scientists who track pledges to fight climate announced that the host nation — the United States — had the biggest backslide in history.“This is the most aggressive, comprehensive and consequential climate policy rollback the CAT has ever analyzed,” said Niklas Höhne, a New Climate Institute scientist who helps run the tracker. In much of the rest of the world, progress But non-U.S. leaders in politics and business highlighted how much of the world has switched to cleaner renewable energy, such as solar and wind, mostly because of price.“The economic case is clear,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the Global Renewables Summit. She said 90% of new renewable projects generate power more cheaply than fossil fuels, and solar energy is now 41% cheaper than the lowest-cost fossil alternative. "So yes, the momentum is real.”Last year the world invested $2 trillion in renewable energy, twice as much as the fossil fuels that spew heat-trapping gases, several leaders said. Just 10 years ago when the world's leaders adopted the Paris climate agreement, the planet was headed to 5 degrees Celsius (9 degrees Fahrenheit) of warming above pre-industrial times. Now it's on track for 3 degrees Celsius (5.4 degrees Fahrenheit), said United Nations climate chief Simon Stiell. But it's not near the Paris goal of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit), Stiell said."We will have inched forward so progress is being made," Stiell said. He said the unanimous consensus process of international negotiations is “difficult, but it is delivering.”But it's not enough and too slow, said Ralph Regenvanu, Vanuatu's climate change minister. His country and other small island nations and vulnerable states plan to ask the U.N. General Assembly — which goes by majority rule, not unanimity — to follow up on the International Court of Justice's ruling earlier this year that all countries must act on climate change. Vanuatu's resolution won't be proposed until after November's climate negotiations in Brazil, he said.Places such as Antigua and Barbuda are “under siege for a climate crisis we did not create,” Prime Minister Gaston Browne said of his nation, which has been hit by four Category Four and Five hurricanes in a decade. “Every degree of warming is an invoice, literally a demand sent to small islands that we cannot afford to pay."The nations of the world all were supposed to come up with new five-year plans for curbing carbon emissions by February, leading into the Brazil negotiations. But only 47 of the 195 nations — those responsible for less than a quarter of global emissions — have done so. U.N. officials said they should be submitted by the end of this month so experts can calculate how the world is doing in its emission-reduction efforts.The world's biggest emitter, China, and another top polluter, the European Union, are expected to announce their plans or rough sketches of their plans this week. The United Nations session Wednesday is designed to cajole countries to do more.Australian billionaire Andrew Forrest tried to cheer business and world leaders on Monday. “Despair is not leadership,” Forrest said. “Fear has never built anything. We’re here today to lead by your very example.”The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See – Sept. 2025

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Gatwick second runway plan approved by transport secretary

There has been strong opposition against the airport wanting to use its northern runway.

Gatwick second runway plan approved by transport secretaryKaty Austintransport correspondent andJamie WhiteheadPA MediaTransport Secretary Heidi Alexander has approved plans for a second runway at London Gatwick Airport, as the government looks for economic growth opportunities. The £2.2bn privately-financed project involves in effect moving the current Northern Runway 12 metres to bring it into regular use, as well as other developments, including extending the size of terminals. Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the plans would create "thousands of jobs and billions in investment", but the project has long faced opposition and the Green Party described it as "disaster".Gatwick currently handles about 280,000 flights a year. It says the plan would enable that number to rise to around 389,000 by the late 2030s.Reeves said the second Gatwick runway was part of the government's plan to "get Britain building again".A government source has described the plans as a "no-brainer for growth," adding that "it is possible that planes could be taking off from a new full runway at Gatwick before the next general election."London Gatwick, in West Sussex, is currently Europe's busiest single-runway airport with more than 40 million passengers using it every year. The plans approved by Ms Alexander would include adding 40,000 more flights before the second runway opens, and 70,000 more - almost 190 a day - once it is fully up and running.The airport says that passenger numbers could rise to up to 80 million.Currently, the Northern Runway is currently only used for taxiing or as a back up. The second runway would be used for short haul flights, with capacity also freed up for more long-haul services from the main runway.The decision to approve the expansion plan had been expected in February, but at the time, the transport secretary only said she was "minded to grant consent" for the Northern Runway planning application. It emerged planning inspectors had expressed concerns over the effect the proposals would have on several aspects on the area surrounding the airport, including traffic and noise.In April, Gatwick Airport agreed to stricter noise controls, an enhanced insulation scheme for nearby residents, and having 54% of air passengers using public transport before the Northern Runway opened. To achieve this target, the airport said, third parties - including the Department for Transport - would need to "support delivery of the necessary conditions and improvements required to meet this target," giving the example of reinstating the full Gatwick Express rail service. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the Gatwick Express ran a service of four trains per hour non-stop between the airport and London Victoria, this was reduced to two trains per hour from 2022. Gatwick Airport also proposed a cars-on-the-road limit if the 54% target could not be met before the first use of the Northern Runway to address possible road congestion concerns. It added that if neither the target nor the cars-on-the road limit could be met, the runway plans would be delayed until the required £350m of road improvements had been completed. "This would make sure any additional road traffic flows can be accommodated and any congestion avoided," the airport said. "This government has taken unprecedented steps to get this done, navigating a needlessly complex planning system, which our reforms will simplify in future," the government source said. "Any airport expansion must be delivered in line with our legally binding climate change commitments and meet strict environmental requirements."Chris Curtis, who chairs the Labour Party's growth group, welcomed the approval but said "radical planning reform" was needed to enable future projects to be completed more swiftly. Shadow transport secretary Richard Holden welcomed the decision as "a vital step towards driving economic growth". But he said approval should have been made months ago and accused Labour of creating "uncertainty for businesses and local communities". But there is strong opposition to any expansion, particularly from climate campaigners.Green Party leader Zack Polanski said approval of the expansion plan was a "disaster for the climate crisis".Hannah Lawrence, spokesperson for Stay Grounded, said "We need an immediate end to airport expansion and money put into improving sustainable transport such as trains."In February, Greenpeace UK policy director Douglas Parr said the extension would not drive economic growth. "The only thing it's set to boost is air pollution, noise, and climate emissions," he added.Alex Chapman, senior economist at left-of-centre think tank New Economics Foundation, also argued the move would not create new jobs, but would just shift them from other parts of the country."People are already perfectly able to catch cheap flights on holiday or travel for business," he added.Unite the Union general secretary Sharon Graham backed Gatwick having a second runway, but warned it would need "to come with guarantees of well paid, unionised jobs and proper facilities for workers".Sally Pavey, chair of Communities Against Gatwick Noise Emissions (CAGNE), said she was worried about "uncontrollable noise, ramifications on the roads, decline in air quality... and climate change"."We can't keep ignoring climate change and it would be wrong to allow a new 'bucket and spade' runway, as we put it, at the expense of residents and the economy," she said.The group would take legal action through a judicial review if the expansion goes ahead, she added.Gatwick's is the latest in a string of airport expansion approvals, most recently Luton's in June. The government has also expressed support for a third runway at the country's biggest airport, Heathrow, but that would be a much more complex, costly and controversial project.

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Opinion: Collaboration, not litigation, can support both salmon and hydropower

We live in a region where both salmon and hydropower production can and do co-exist, writes Scott Simms of the Public Power Council. Failing to find a path forward that supports both is a missed opportunity for everyone who calls the Northwest their home.

Scott SimmsFor The Oregonian/OregonLiveSimms is chief executive officer and executive director of the Public Power Council, which represents more than 80 nonprofit, community owned electric utilities across six Pacific Northwest states, including Oregon.A recent op-ed by Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association’s Liz Hamilton left some key facts out of the conversation about our region’s salmon and our hydropower system (“Back to court, but our regional work to protect salmon will continue,” Sept. 14). It’s true that a coalition of fishing and special interest groups, the states of Oregon and Washington and four Lower Columbia River Treaty tribes requested a federal judge lift a stay in decades-old litigation over how to manage the Columbia Basin. We have long been in conflict with those who believe that dismantling dams on the Lower Snake River – which produce reliable hydropower for the region – is essential to protecting salmon. However, we do not believe that conflict is necessary. Rather, we believe now is the time for the region to focus on shared goals of restoring fish while maintaining an adequate and affordable power system. Instead of endless litigation, we can strengthen programs that protect sensitive environmental areas, improve habitat and deploy new technologies that help fish pass safely through dams. Although there are significant disagreements that will require negotiation, we can make progress more quickly through collaboration than litigation. And there have already been gains. Since Bonneville Dam first began operating in 1938, the number of returning adult salmon and steelhead has tripled, according to fish counts from dams across the Columbia River basin compiled by the University of Washington’s Data Access in Real Time system. While there’s still a lot of work ahead to continue strengthening certain runs, we are witnessing fish populations bouncing back, even with dams in place.At the same time as these fish returns are improving, the states of Oregon and Washington have expanded non-tribal salmon fishing seasons for sport and commercial operations. Fishing groups don’t mention this when they advocate for severely hobbling or demolishing the region’s hydro projects. But the impact of sport and commercial fishing on salmon should not be ignored in a comprehensive discussion about how to protect fish populations. As recently as this month, Oregon and Washington fisheries managers approved an extension of commercial gillnetting operations in the Columbia River. The practice of commercial gillnetting – in which massive nets extend up to 1,500 feet into the river – is so effective at ensnaring all types of fish, endangered or not, that critics have repeatedly, but unsuccessfully, sought to ban its use. These efforts are in addition to the offshore commercial harvests that happen when trawlers cruise the international waters off our region’s shores, hauling out salmon and other species by the ton every year. These salmon never make it back to their spawning grounds, nor, importantly, to the historic fishing areas where the region’s tribes have rights under U.S. treaties.Meanwhile, the same groups advocating for a return to the courtroom also do not acknowledge the critically important role our region’s clean, renewable hydro system plays in powering homes and businesses and funding salmon recovery efforts. In the heat dome that gripped the Northwest in 2021 and the massive cold snap that hit us in 2024, the hydropower generated by dams was the single largest source of electricity fueling the Northwest, based on data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration Hourly Grid Monitor. These are two extreme events that, because of a changing climate and an increase in electricity dependency, will stress our system even more in the future. Hydropower has long been the backbone of our region’s energy system, and it will be even more critical in the next decade, as electricity consumption is forecast to grow by more than 30%. While many understand that hydro powers our communities and our modern lives, few are aware that the system also funds one of the world’s largest fish and wildlife mitigation programs in the world. The region’s nonprofit electric utilities, which buy their power from the federal Bonneville Power Administration, have collectively paid more than $715 million annually from 2013 to 2023 to fund hatcheries, habitat improvements, predation management and other actions.The op-ed dismisses a 2020 plan for Columbia River operations as putting the needs of salmon last. But that plan, developed over a course of years under both Republican and Democratic administrations, helped deliver a banner year for salmon returns to the region in 2024, while also ensuring a strong hydropower supply that carried us through extreme weather events. This plan set out to balance of the needs in the basin – without breaching dams that coalition members use as a cornerstone for their advocacy.We live in a region where both salmon and hydropower production can and do co-exist. Failing to find a path forward that supports both is such a missed opportunity for everyone who calls the Northwest their home. We in Northwest public power stand ready to avoid a return to the courtroom and to sit down with litigants to do the hard work of collaborating on a solution. We remain hopeful that the coalition groups will join us. Share your opinion Submit your essay of 600-700 words on a highly topical issue or a theme of particular relevance to the Pacific Northwest, Oregon and the Portland area to commentary@oregonian.com. No attachments, please. Please include your email and phone number for verification. If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

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Business

The Rulindo Challenge

In May 2010, Rulindo, Rwanda launched an ambitious plan to bring access to water and sanitation services to the entire district population. This film explores the story, challenges and ultimate success for reaching over 330,000 people with safe water in the rural and mountainous Rulindo District, and how this project is inspiring sustainable water (infrastructure and sanitation) models around the world.

Sustainable

Business

Health

Small Footprints: Crafting an Eco-Lodge in Wild Alaska

In 2008, a sustainable development project began in the middle of the Kenai Fjords of Alaska, 3 hours by boat from the nearest port of civilization. Told from the points of view of crew members, project coordinators and the Native Alaskan corporation that owns the land itself, the film is both a celebration of and a blueprint for sustainable construction, as well as an exciting battle against time and the elements deep within wild Alaska.

Sustainable

Business

Documentary

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Suggested Viewing

The Fellowship of the Springs

Florida Caviar

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The Rulindo Challenge

Small Footprints: Crafting an Eco-Lodge in Wild Alaska

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a sustainable future

sign up for our mailing list to stay informed on the latest films and environmental headlines.

Cookies help us run our site more efficiently.

IoT devices will be the catalyst for the 4th industrial revolution

Revolutionize efficiency

IoT’s impact on product quality

The future of industrial automation

Related News

Louisiana's $3B Power Upgrade for Meta Project Raises Questions About Who Should Foot the Bill

California’s marijuana industry gets a break under new law suspending tax hike

World, Business Leaders Hope to Keep Momentum in Fight Against Climate Change Despite US

Gatwick second runway plan approved by transport secretary

Opinion: Collaboration, not litigation, can support both salmon and hydropower

Suggested Viewing

The Fellowship of the Springs

Florida Caviar

The Story of a Forest

The Rulindo Challenge

Small Footprints: Crafting an Eco-Lodge in Wild Alaska

Join us to forgea sustainable future

sign up for our mailing list to stay informed on the latest films and environmental headlines.

Join us to forge
a sustainable future