Topophilia: Turning a Deep Love for Nevada into a Clean Energy Future
Emily Walsh has been deeply embedded in the Sierra Nevada since she was a child. Today, she works to shift the energy landscape of Nevada and to protect her home state.
Emily Walsh has been deeply embedded in the Sierra Nevada since she was a child. Today, she works to shift the energy landscape of Nevada and to protect her home state.
In her home state of New Mexico, Anjali Bean is helping break up a decades-long stalemate and bringing both sides of the water debate to the table to figure out how to make every single drop of water serve as many benefits as possible.
In the 2025 session, we saw major wins – from protecting ratepayers and conserving water, to reducing wildfire risks and promoting equitable outdoor access.
In this series, we’re exploring the human elements of our work flighting climate change in the West. You’ll hear from staff members across the organization about how their experiences across the West led them to WRA and how they’re turning their love for these places into advocacy.
On a trip down Cataract Canyon, WRA’s John Berggren and Tahlia Bear saw firsthand how the Colorado River is changing. In this photo-essay, they reflect on how a changing river requires a shift in how the region thinks about water.
Nevada’s energy landscape is rapidly changing. The state’s integrated resource planning process needs reform to keep pace. Transparency in the IRP process is paramount to the state’s energy future and economic health.
It’s clear that IRP processes are complex and multifaceted. And while IRPs in the Interior West share many similarities, the process in each state is different, often substantially so. The process in every state carries unique challenges that WRA works to address. In this blog, we’ll examine the resource planning processes in four states, explain how each one works and what aspects need improvement.
Integrated Resource Plans are how utilities map their plans for our collective clean energy future — WRA is involved every step of the way.
The time for action is now — many legislative sessions are already underway across our region. At state legislatures around the West, we’re making sure that climate solutions are passed, enacted, and have a lasting impact on our communities.
If you voted, you may feel like your job is done or that there’s nothing else you can do. But there is so much more. Our work is just beginning.
A shift in the regulatory environment at the Arizona Corporation Commission, utilities lagging in the reductions required by climate science, and load growth from economic development provide both challenges and opportunities for the energy transition in the state.
While it may not have always been headline news in Colorado, the environment came out as a major winner this session thanks in part to WRA’s staff who testified, drafted bill language, and engaged legislators and allies; the collective advocacy of our experts; and strategic collaboration through partnerships across the political spectrum.