“Climate change will cause existing hydroelectric dams to generate more power in the Pacific Northwest and around the lower 48 states in the coming decades. That’s according to projections from an August study by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Richland-based Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The study looked at how the changing climate will impact weather, and then how that in turn will impact hydroelectric generation between 2020 and 2059 — a period when regional electricity demand is projected to grow. The findings also come at a time when dams are caught between their important role in meeting Washington’s 2045 fossil fuel-free grid mandate and ever-increasing scrutiny because they harm Native nations and salmon.
More specifically, the study projected that between 2020 and 2039 hydroelectric in the Pacific Northwest will change — somewhere in the range of a decline of 3 percent to an increase of 17 percent. And it will change — between a decline of 6 percent and an increase of 27 percent — in the two decades following that. Changes varied by region of the contiguous U.S. Of the nearly 500 dams in the Columbia River Basin, more than half produce hydroelectricity, 29 are major and only nine are federally operated. The others are run by local public utility districts and other parties.
While hydroelectric generation capability will decrease during the summer, the 2020 report noted demand during that time would increase due to hotter temperatures and the resulting need for air conditioning. And, compounding the challenges, another BPA report last month found that demand for power is projected to greatly increase across the region because of industries like data centers.” (The Columbian, H. Brannan, 9.16.24)
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