The 2026 Goldsmith Award Winners: How They Did It with Tony Schick and Monica Samayoa of OPB

Why It Matters

The investigation shows that without integrated grid governance and modernized permitting, even states with strong renewable ambitions will fall short of climate goals, jeopardizing national decarbonization efforts.

Key Takeaways

• Pacific Northwest states lag in renewable growth despite green reputation.
• Drought‑driven hydro shortfalls forced reliance on coal and gas.
• Federal BPA controls 75% of regional grid, hindering project connections.
• Outdated 1970s siting policies enable appeals that stall renewables.
• Legislators omitted BPA from planning, exposing policy coordination gaps.

Summary

The Shorenstein Center’s Goldsmith Prize winners, Tony Schick and Monica Samayoa of Oregon Public Broadcasting, were honored for their investigative series “Power Struggle.” The series probes why the Pacific Northwest, long touted as a green‑energy leader, ranks near the bottom nationally in renewable power growth.

The reporters trace the problem to a cascade of factors: drought‑driven hydroelectric shortfalls pushed utilities toward coal and natural gas; data from the Energy Information Administration show Oregon and Washington lagging at 47th and 50th in renewable‑generation growth. A deeper dive revealed that the federal Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) owns roughly 75% of the regional transmission grid, creating a bottleneck that prevents new wind, solar, and offshore projects from connecting.

Key moments include Tony’s discovery of a striking map highlighting the states’ carbon‑emission trends, Monica’s account of Oregon’s missed floating offshore‑wind opportunity, and legislators’ admission they never consulted BPA when drafting clean‑energy mandates. The series also uncovers a legacy 1970s siting‑appeal process—originally designed to curb nuclear plants—that now empowers activists like Irene Gilbert to stall renewable projects through endless appeals.

The findings underscore a critical policy gap: ambitious renewable targets cannot be met without coordinated grid planning, updated transmission infrastructure, and reforms to antiquated permitting rules. For the Pacific Northwest and other regions, aligning federal grid operators with state climate agendas is essential to avoid reliance on fossil fuels and to achieve mid‑century carbon‑free electricity goals.

Original Description

In their 2025 series “Power Struggle,” reporters Tony Schick and Monica Samayoa of Oregon Public Broadcasting explain why states in the Pacific Northwest — despite their portrayal as leaders in green energy — rank near the bottom of the country for the growth of renewable power.

This reporting team, in partnership with ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network, broke down green energy production and its relationship to the nation’s electrical grid. Schick and Samayoa explained how the Northwest region’s electrical grid was incapable of hooking up all the new wind and solar farms that are needed to reduce fossil fuel use.

Hear from Schick and Samayoa, winners of the 2026 Goldsmith Prize for Explanatory Reporting, about how they did this reporting. Register above and submit your questions in advance.